MORTL for Schools
Death is part of life.
Schools can teach it that way.
MORTL for Schools has two halves. Free death-education kits for classrooms, in development now, and a response system plus MORTL Premium for everyone who works in your building.
Schools pay 20 percent less than employers, and Title I schools pay half the employer rate: $2,000 or $1,250 for the founding year, for up to 100 staff.
Half one
For students, free
Death education here means the plain facts, in words a child can use: what death is, what happens to a body after, what a funeral costs, who helps, and how families handle it. Nothing graphic, nothing meant to frighten, and no belief about what comes after death. A teacher leads every session. Parents see every page before it reaches a classroom. There's no student login, and MORTL never collects a student's name or anything else about them.
| Grades | What it is | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| K-2 | A coloring book | All living things die. A dead body stops working, and it doesn't come back. Most people live a very long time. |
| 3-5 | A booklet | Burial, cremation, what a funeral is, how families differ, and how to help a classmate whose person died. |
| 6-8 | A seminar and a cost sheet in ranges | The death certificate, the funeral home, what a will is, and how to sit with a grieving friend. |
| 9-12 | A two-session seminar and a state cost sheet in dollars | What happens medically at the end, advance directives, real funeral and cremation costs for their state, what an estate is, and digital accounts after death. |
Where things stand today: the 9-12 kit is being written now. The K-2 coloring book is next, then the 3-5 booklet, then the 6-8 seminar. None of them has shipped yet. If your school wants to be the first to use one, say so in the form below and we'll build it with you.
Half two
For everyone who works in the building
The staff benefit is MORTL for Employers, sold to a school, a charter network or a district. When a death reaches a school, the principal and the front office get the same plan an HR team gets, and every person on payroll gets MORTL Premium all year to put their own family's paperwork in order.
The first 48 hours
One page for the front office: confirming with the family, telling staff and families, final pay and benefits, and the two weeks after.
Open it →The manager card
What a principal or a department head says to a colleague who lost someone, word for word, and the sentences to retire.
Open it →The bereavement policy template
A leave policy a board can adopt in one meeting. Word and PDF, free.
Open it →The return-to-work plan
A 30-, 60- and 90-day plan for a teacher coming back after a death, built for that person and that classroom.
Open it →MORTL Premium for every staff member
The will template, the advance directive, the Folder, family sharing, and a state-specific plan, all year, for everyone on payroll.
Open it →The readiness audit
Twelve questions, five minutes, and a scored report on how ready your school is today. Free, no signup.
Open it →Everything on the employer page comes with it: the manager training, the launch kit, quarterly aggregate reporting, and the data boundary. The school sees activation numbers and never a teacher's will. Read the full employer offer →
One more free resource, from outside MORTL: the Grief-Sensitive Schools Initiative offers free grief training for school staff.
What it costs
Schools pay 20 percent less than employers, and Title I schools pay half the employer rate. Both are standing rules. One program, one annual invoice, everything included.
| Rate | Founding year | Renewal | Who it's for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Schools rate | $2,000 for the founding year, for up to 100 staff. That's $20 per person at 100 staff. | $1.60 per staff member per month at renewal, billed annually, with a $2,000 annual minimum. | Any school, charter network or district. |
| Title I rate | $1,250 for the founding year, for up to 100 staff. That's $12.50 per person at 100 staff. | $1 per staff member per month at renewal, billed annually, with a $1,250 annual minimum. | The Title I rate applies to a Title I school, to a charter network where most campuses are Title I, and to a district where most schools are Title I. |
MORTL checks Title I status against ED Data Express, the U.S. Department of Education's public database, before quoting the rate. Self-declared status doesn't count.
Staff means everyone on payroll: teachers, counselors, school nurses, paraprofessionals, bus drivers, and cafeteria, custodial and office staff.
Above 500 staff, pricing is custom: a district above 500 staff gets a quote on the call.
For one person
Matt's Rate
Anyone who works in a school qualifies for Matt's Rate on their own, with or without a school contract: half off Premium, for life, $34.50 a year or $4.50 a month. Named for Matt Horn, a nurse who worked in hospice.
Who qualifies and how to get a code →My brother Matt is a nurse, and he worked in hospice. I always wonder how in the world he does it. He's always been so kind-hearted, caring, and brave. This is for the people like him who inspire and care for us all.
The rules
- No student data. MORTL never holds a student's name, login or anything else about them. There's nothing to breach.
- Parents first. Every kit goes home before it goes to a classroom, with a letter and an opt-out line.
- Teacher-led. A teacher runs every session. MORTL supplies the pages and the cost sheet.
- No belief about what comes after death. The kits cover what happens to the body, the paperwork and the costs. What a family believes stays with the family.
- The free things stay free. The classroom kits, the someone-just-died path, and Premium for a person who is dying are free, always.
Request a call
Thirty minutes with whoever buys benefits for your school or district. You leave with a quote and your readiness gaps, whether or not you buy anything. All fields required.
School Questions
What a principal asks on the first call.
Who pays for this, and out of which budget?
The school, the charter network or the district, on one annual invoice. It fits a general-fund HR line next to the EAP. Whether $2,000 needs a bid or a board vote depends on your district's small-purchase threshold, so check your purchasing rule before the call.
Do the classroom kits cost anything?
Nothing. The kits are free to any school, whether or not it buys the staff benefit. They're in development now, starting with the 9-12 seminar. If you want to be the first school to use one, say so in the call form.
Does MORTL hold any student data?
No, ever. There's no student login, no student account and no student form. The kits are paper and a teacher's voice. The only accounts MORTL holds are the staff accounts a school buys, and each of those belongs to the staff member, never to the school.
Can a parent opt a child out?
Yes. Every kit will go home with a letter and an opt-out line before it reaches a classroom, and a school can add its own wording. A parent who wants to read the whole kit first can, and the teacher decides what the child does during that session.