Special Announcements
Continuum of Services
Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), the Special Education law, Northside is required to obtain parent permission to access the public benefits or insurance students may be eligible for under Medicaid. For many years, the Northside Independent School District (as well as all school districts) has been able to collect a small amount of funds from the Medicaid system as reimbursement for some of the medically related services we provide students with disabilities under their Individualized Education Program (IEP). For the first time, Congress has now required that we also make sure that we make parents aware of this effort and that we seek your approval. So, if your child is eligible for Medicaid you will now get a form in every annual Admission, Review and Dismissal (ARD) where we tell you about this and ask you to sign your approval.
So the ARD Committee must fully inform parents about the use of my child’s Medicaid benefits?
Yes. NISD must inform you that:
- Families do not lose any Medicaid insurance if NISD bills for any of the medically related services that may be provided as stated in the ARD.
- Obtaining parent permission is just a new requirement added to special education regulations so that we fully inform parents in writing that we are, in fact, billing Medicaid for some of the services students receive as a result of the ARD Committee decisions.
- Parents also need to know that we get this information (that a student is Medicaid eligible) from the State Department of Health Services where the information is registered.
- All of the information NISD receives about Medicaid is confidentially provided to NISD under the law. Just like special education information, Medicaid data is kept confidential and secure.
What services are partially reimbursed by Medicaid?
Some of the medically related services NISD may bill Medicaid for include speech, medical/health procedures performed by the nurse, and personal care services. Personal care services mean those things done with the assistance of instructional assistants. These may include toileting, diapering, escorting, personal hygiene, hand-over-hand activities and many more.
How is this like when my child goes to the doctor and we use Medicaid?
It is similar. Doctors keep records of what they do in the appointment at the office and bills Medicaid just like any other insurance company for that service. Speech and language pathologists, teachers, nurses and bus drivers also keep records of everything they do for students. NISD does not receive a lot of reimbursement (it is a very small percentage of our actual costs), but it is very helpful to get some additional monies for the special education program.
How long has Northside been doing this?
Congress approved the concept of public schools billing for Medicaid reimbursement about 15 years ago. Congress has never fully funded the cost of special education as was promised when the original special education law was passed. This ability to bill Medicaid was an effort by Congress to assist school districts to obtain some additional funding.
What if I refuse to sign the Medicaid permission form?
If parents refuse to give consent for NISD to bill Medicaid, then the district will not be able to receive any reimbursement for the medically related services we provide as directed by the ARD Committee. There is no penalty or problem if parents choose this option. However, NISD will lose a source of important funding for the special education program. Please understand that there is no loss to any student’s benefits in any way if the district is allowed to obtain this reimbursement.
What if I have questions?
Contact your Special Education Campus Coordinator or call the Special Education Office at 397 8742.