Go home and get better: An exploration of inequitable educational services for homebound children

Abstract

This paper explores the inequitable educational services afforded to homebound children with chronic illness in the US. Even though this vulnerable population is growing due to increased survival and incidence rates, neither federal nor state guidelines address their educational needs. Even the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) does not provide guidelines for this population in our public school systems. Traditional educational services afforded to this population consist of 4-5 hours per week of home instruction. In addition to receiving inequitable educational services, being homebound isolates them from important social interaction with their peers. We are currently conducting a national study on virtual inclusion via interactive technologies and the equity and inclusion challenges of this practice. This paper details this problem and then examines the use of innovative technologies that may offer inclusion of these children in traditional schools (e.g., videoconferencing and telepresence robots).