For Schools and Districts: Education in Residential Treatment Facilities

Districts can help students stay on track towards their educational goals while needing a higher level care, like residential treatment. With the support of the district and facility before admission, during treatment, and at discharge, students can return in a better position to reach their full potential in school and later in the workforce. The information below can assist districts with maintaining educational stability for students in residential treatment.

Enrollment

Educational enrollment for a student entering residential treatment is based on several factors and can vary based on the parent’s residence and district’s location.
 
Ohio law states that a child who does not reside in the district where the child's parent resides shall be admitted to the schools of the district in which the child lives if any of the following applies:
  1. The child is in the legal or permanent custody of a government agency or a person other than the child's natural or adoptive parent;
  2. The child resides in a home; or
  3. The child requires special education.
Ohio law states that a child who does not reside in the district where the child's parent resides is not required to be admitted to the schools of the district in which the child resides if both of the following apply:
 
  1. The child resides in a residential treatment facility similarly licensed in another state, and the child was placed in the residential treatment facility by the child's parent in consultation with, and upon the recommendation of the OhioRISE (Resilience through Integrated Systems and Excellence) for children and youth involved in multiple state systems; and
  2. The residential treatment facility provides education services that meet the minimum education standards under division (D)(2) of Ohio law or, in the case of a facility located in another state, meets substantially similar requirements of the jurisdiction where the facility is located, except that the residential treatment facility may provide the child with less than the minimum number of instructional hours required only as necessary to accommodate the child's treatment program.
Ohio law requires schools and districts in which a foster child is enrolled after placement in a residential facility to assess the child’s needs for appropriate services and interventions. After assessing the child’s needs, the school district will make recommendations to the agency with custody of the child and the residential facility to best support the child.

OhioRISE

OhioRISE (Resilience through Integrated Systems and Excellence) is a specialized Ohio Medicaid managed care program for children and youth under age 21 with complex behavioral health and multi-system needs. 
 
Some of the services that OhioRISE offers to better support qualifying children and their families include:
  • Care Coordination (team-based service planning and evidence-based care for a unified approach to support);
  • Intensive Home-Based Treatment –(professional care in a familiar setting, like home or school);
  • Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facilities (inpatient care at a facility close to home);
  • Mobile Response and Stabilization Services (MRSS) (immediate care and intervention to youth in crisis from professionals that come directly to your location);
  • Behavioral Health Respite (short-term childcare support for primary caregivers of children enrolled in OhioRISE); and
  • Primary Flex Fund (funding for services, equipment, or supplies not otherwise provided through the Medicaid state plan that addresses an identified need in the service plan).
Students placed in residential treatment through OhioRISE will receive educational services that meet the minimum education standards prescribed within Ohio law or substantially similar requirements.
 
Upon admission, throughout treatment, and before discharge, the residential treatment facility and district of residence should establish communication protocols and work to ensure a student’s education is minimally disrupted for the student receiving treatment services.

Tuition for Students Enrolled in OhioRISE

To ensure that students participating in OhioRISE  receive uninterrupted access to both education and treatment, and in accordance with Ohio law, the Department will facilitate the payment of educational costs to the residential treatment facility where a student is placed.
 
The Department will do this by reducing the resident district’s foundation payment (based on Ohio's state funding formula) and directing the funding to the facility. The per diem rate will include a student’s base educational cost ($45.79) plus the highest special education category rate that Ohio funds for schools and districts ($181.10), for a total of $226.89 per day. DEW will certify each payment for each individual student.
 
Resident districts and DEW will confirm educational arrangements to prevent service gaps. The responsible school district will continue to report the student in its enrollment per Ohio law. 
 
For students placed into residential treatment in consultation with OhioRISE, if the parent's residence changes to a different school district while the child resides in a residential treatment facility, the Department may redetermine the school district responsible for tuition based on evidence provided by the district currently responsible for tuition.

Tuition for Students not Enrolled in OhioRISE

If the child is not in the permanent or legal custody of a government agency or person other than the child's parent and the child resides in a residential treatment facility, Ohio law described that tuition shall be paid by:
  1. The school district in which the child's parent resides; or
  2. The residential treatment facility in which the child resides (if the child's parent is not a resident of this state).
Ohio law states that if the child is provided educational services by a chartered nonpublic school while residing in a residential treatment facility and the child has been awarded a scholarship under a state scholarship program, no school district shall be responsible for paying tuition under division (C)(5) of this section.

Discharge and Credit Acceptance

Upon a child’s discharge from the residential treatment facility, Ohio law requires the facility to immediately notify both the district where the child's parent resides and the Department at ResidentialEducation@education.ohio.gov. The notification shall include a certified transcript of all coursework completed by the child while residing in the residential treatment facility. The district where the child's parent resides shall accept all coursework completed by the child while in the residential treatment facility and shall award credit for that coursework in accordance with district policy.
 
Following discharge from the residential treatment facility and return to the parent's residence, high school students shall meet requirements under section 3313.618 of the Revised Code in order to qualify for a high school diploma that are no more stringent than those that apply to students who enroll into an Ohio public or chartered nonpublic high school after receiving a home education under section 3321.042 of the Revised Code.

Preparing for Student Transitions

Clear procedures for records requests and transfers help ensure continuity for students in residential treatment facilities. Districts and schools can promptly request and share academic and Individualized Education Program (IEP) records, even when the student’s enrollment remains within the same district. When students return, districts should review prior coursework and to identify earned credits, and involve the student and family work with the student and family in a discussion about credits earned and next steps towards success.

Transition protocols, like contracts or Memorandums of Understanding, outline how records transfer between settings. Facilities can immediately notify a student’s previous school of any placement change and confirm timely record transfers upon discharge. Ohio law requires schools to send records within five days, with exceptions. Access the Navigation Essentials toolkit website for additional tips and best practices.

Facilities should request records for students who attended a public school or community school directly from that institution. For records pertaining to students who attended a private school, facilities should contact the Office of Nonpublic Educational Options at 614-728-2678 or Chartered.nonpublic.schools@education.ohio.gov.

Last Modified: 5/11/2026 2:33:50 PM