Board approves teletherapy master agreement to help special-education staffing; commissioners seek limits on in-school use

The San Francisco Board of Education on Aug. 8 approved a master services agreement intended to expand teletherapy and home/hospital instruction (HHI) to students who cannot be served on site, as the district grapples with special-education staffing shortages.

Commissioner Fisher raised concerns during debate that remotely delivered assessments or teletherapy could be used in place of required in-person observations for students who are physically attending district schools. "We are not providing FAPE to all of the students in our district," Fisher said, urging clarity that teletherapy "will not be provided via virtual content to anyone who is in one of our physical schools." Fisher also asked that the board ensure compliance with Education Code requirements for in-person assessment observation.

Superintendent Wayne responded that the program targets HHI and home- or hospital-based students, and that the master services agreement will be followed by individual service agreements that specify who receives services and the oversight for each placement. "I can confirm that... it's the program is HHI—home hospital instruction," Superintendent Wayne said, adding that the district will track which students receive services.

Commissioner Fisher said that if ambiguity remained about scope or compliance with Ed. Code, she would seek a tabling of the item; staff and the superintendent stated the service agreements provide an additional level of oversight. Board members moved and seconded the item and conducted a roll-call vote; the action passed with the board recording six affirmative votes and no opposing votes.

The agreement is intended to give the district flexibility to serve students who are homebound, hospitalized or otherwise unable to attend school while the district continues to hire and staff special-education positions. Staff said the master agreement structure allows the district to create specific, trackable service contracts for individual students.

The board did not provide specific dollar amounts in the meeting readout for this master agreement; contract details and per-student service agreements will be available in the contract reports provided with consent and subsequent agenda materials.

Next steps: staff will implement the master agreement and execute individual service agreements that define which students receive teletherapy or HHI and the monitoring mechanisms to ensure compliance with state education law.