Category: Federal Government Actions

USDE and HHS Announce Proposed Rule Change and Accompanying Guidance for School-based Medicaid Billing (May 21, 2023)

On May 18, 2023, the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), made a joint announcement regarding a proposed rule and a much-anticipated guidance update for school-based Medicaid billing. The announcement said that the Biden Administration is “taking action to make it easier for schools to provide critical health care services, especially mental health services, for millions of students across the nation” through a more streamlined Medicaid billing permissions and reimbursement process for students with disabilities.

As a result, the USDE predicts that of the 500,000 new students who are found eligible under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Part B each year, nearly 300,000 are likely to be eligible for Medicaid and impacted by the new rule. In addition, HHS is issuing new guidance to make it easier for schools to bill Medicaid.

Specifically, the proposed rule recommends eliminating a provision in the IDEA that requires one-time parental consent before schools file first-time invoices for school-based specialized services for children eligible for public benefits under Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) or other public insurance and benefits programs. USDE is instead releasing a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking under IDEA that would streamline consent provisions when billing for Medicaid services provided through a student’s individualized education program (IEP). This would result in a uniform process applicable to all Medicaid enrolled children, regardless of disability. 

Importantly, the proposed changes do not alter any of the critical parental consent provisions required by IDEA nor do they impact the parental consent obligations under the Family Educational Records and Privacy Act (FERPA). Additionally, the proposed rule does not alter the requirement that IEP services must be delivered at no cost to the child’s family, the requirement that IEP services cannot diminish other Medicaid-reimbursable services, nor Medicaid’s position as payor of first resort for IEP and Individualized Family Service Plan services. Rather, this regulatory change would help cut unnecessary red tape that schools and districts face in billing Medicaid and meet their obligations to ensure students with disabilities receive a free, appropriate public education in accordance with their IEP.

The comment period for the proposed rule change in IDEA for parental consent for Medicaid billing ends August 1, 2023.

To view the announcement and access the Comprehensive Guide to Medicaid Services and Administrative Claiming – PDF, click here.

PA Members of Congress Intro Bipartisan Safe Interactions Act (May 20, 2023)

On May 18, 2023, three Pennsylvania members of Congress – Rep.Susan Wild, Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, and Senator Bob Casey – teamed up to introduce the Safe Interactions Act – a bipartisan bill to improve interactions between law enforcement officers and people with disabilities and mental health needs. This legislation will provide enhanced trainings to our police officers on working with and communicating with those in crisis, to help make our communities safer.

The Safe Interactions Act would provide grants to enable non-profit disability organizations to develop training programs that support safe interactions between law enforcement officers and people with disabilities. The training would be directed to both new and veteran officers and would include people with disabilities in the training as instructors. It would also establish an advisory council, chaired by a person with a disability, to oversee the training program development and implementation.

The Washington Post database of police shootings estimates that at least 25 percent of shootings involve a person with a mental health disability, and a Ruderman Family Foundation report found that 33 to 50 percent of all use-of-force police incidents involve people with mental health disabilities – making the Safe Interactions Act a key step in addressing the disproportionate incidences of violence involving law enforcement and people with disabilities.

Reps. Wild and Fitzpatrick introduced the bill in the House and Sen. Casey introduced the bill in the Senate.

Click here to read more about this bill.

USDE Announces Nearly $100 Million in Continued Support for Mental Health and Student Wellness Through Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (May 17, 2023)

On May 15, 2023, the US Department of Education (USDE) announced more than $95 million in awards across 35 states to increase access to school-based mental health services and strengthen the pipeline of mental health professionals in high-needs school districts. The awards were funded by the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA), which President Biden signed into law on June 25, 2022, and they help advance the Administration’s efforts to tackle the mental health crisis in our schools as part of his National Mental Health Strategy.

The USDE has awarded $286 million across 264 grantees in 48 states and territories to boost the training, hiring, and diversification of mental health professionals through two grants – the School-Based Mental Health (SBMH) grant program and Mental Health Service Professional (MHSP) grant program – in President Biden’s Bipartisan Safer Communities Act. Grantees estimate that these funds collectively will prepare more than 14,000 new mental health professionals for America’s schools. A state-by-state breakdown of these projections is included below.

The most recent announcement of 93 additional MHSP awards, following the awarding of $46 million to 67 grantees in December 2022, means that the USDE will fund a total of 160 MHSP grantees across the country who will train and place thousands of diverse and certified mental health providers in schools with the most need. Nearly half (45 percent) of MHSP grantees proposed a partnership with a Minority Serving Institution, Historically Black College or University or Tribal College or University. In February 2023, the USDE also announced $141 million in SBMH grants, which supports school districts in hiring mental health professionals.

The USDE is also announcing up to $2.6 million in funding for a new Mental Health Personnel Technical Assistance Center to support MHSP and SBMH grantees in meeting the goals of their grant. This Center will help identify and develop resources both for SBMH and MHSP grantees to support grantees in addressing the social, emotional, and mental health needs of PK-12 students and staff. The Center will also provide support to the field more broadly – to grantees and beyond – by disseminating best practices in recruiting, training, placing, and retaining school-based mental health services providers.

These historic investments are made possible because of funds provided under BSCA. Over the next five years, the USDE will invest the remainder of the $1 billion provided by BSCA in mental health professionals for schools through the MHSP and SBMH programs, helping advance the President’s goal, as part of his Mental Health Strategy, to double the number of school counselors, social workers, and other school-based mental health professionals.

Last fall, the USDE announced the Stronger Connections Grant program, which provided awards totaling nearly $1 billion to 56 states and territories through BSCA to help schools in high-need districts provide students with safe and supportive learning opportunities and environments that are critical for their success.

At the beginning of the school year, the USDE sent a letter with U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra to governors across the country to highlight federal resources available to states and schools to invest in mental health services for students. The USDE also awarded $122 billion in American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds to help schools reopen and recover, and experts indicate more than $2 billion has been directed to hire more school psychologists, counselors, and other mental health professionals in K-12 schools. With the help of these funds, as of July, compared with the pre-pandemic period, the number of school social workers is up 48 percent, the number of school counselors is up 10 percent, the number of school nurses is up 42 percent, and the number of school psychologists is up 10 percent.

Three Pennsylvania Students Named 2023 U.S. Presidential Scholars (May 12, 2023)

The Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) applauds three Pennsylvania students for recently being named 2023 U.S. Presidential Scholars by the U.S. Department of Education (USDE). The three Pennsylvania students were among 161 high school seniors from across the nation to receive recognition for their accomplishments in academics, the arts, and career and technical education fields.

Pennsylvania’s awardees are William L. Pan, Downingtown High School (East Campus); Vibha Janakiraman, PA Leadership Charter School; and Hannah Gao, Harriton High School.

The White House Commission on Presidential Scholars selects students annually based on their academic success, artistic and technical excellence, essays, school evaluations and transcripts, as well as evidence of community service, leadership, and demonstrated commitment to high ideals.

Of the 3.6 million students expected to graduate from high school this year, more than 6,000 candidates qualified for the 2023 awards determined by outstanding performance on the College Board SAT or ACT exams or through nominations made by Chief State School Officers, other partner recognition organizations, and the National YoungArts Foundation’s nationwide YoungArts™ program.

Created in 1964, the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program has honored over 8,000 of the nation’s top-performing students. The program was expanded in 1979 to recognize students who demonstrate exceptional talent in the visual, literary, and performing arts. In 2015, the program was again extended to recognize students who demonstrate ability and accomplishment in career and technical education fields.

As directed by Presidential Executive Order, the 2023 U.S. Presidential Scholars are comprised of one young man and one young woman from each state, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, and U.S. families living abroad, as well as 15 chosen at-large, 20 Scholars in the arts and 20 Scholars in career and technical education.  

A complete list of all 2023 U.S. Presidential Scholars is available on the U.S. Department of Education’s website.

CDC Releases Survey on Substance Use Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic Among High School Students (April 30, 2023)

In 2021, substance use was common among U.S. high school students and varied by substance. Approximately one third of students (30%) reported current use (i.e., defined as use in the past 30 days) of alcohol or marijuana or prescription opioid misuse. Among current use measures, alcohol (22.7%) and marijuana (15.8%) were the most commonly reported substances used by U.S. high school students (Table 1). Current binge drinking was reported by 10.5% and current prescription opioid misuse by 6.0%. Among lifetime use measures, 47.4% of U.S. high school students reported alcohol use, 27.8% marijuana use, 12.2% prescription opioid misuse, 8.1% inhalant use, and 6.5% synthetic marijuana use. Among lifetime use measures, ecstasy (2.9%), cocaine (2.5%), methamphetamine (1.8%), injection drug use (1.4%), and heroin (1.3%) were less commonly reported.

Trend data were available for all substance use measures except current prescription opioid misuse. All substance use measures with available trend data decreased linearly over the period assessed (2009–2021 for most substances, 2015–2021 for lifetime synthetic marijuana use, and 2017–2021 for current binge drinking and lifetime prescription opioid misuse). From 2019 to 2021, prevalence of current substance use decreased for alcohol (from 29.2% to 22.7%), marijuana (from 21.7% to 15.8%), and binge drinking (from 13.7% to 10.5%). No change was observed in prevalence of current prescription opioid misuse. Lifetime alcohol use, marijuana use, cocaine use, and prescription opioid misuse also decreased from 2019 to 2021; lifetime inhalant use increased from 6.4% to 8.1%.

Compared with males, females had a higher prevalence of current substance use in 2021 for alcohol (26.8% versus 18.8%), marijuana (17.8% versus 13.6%), binge drinking (12.2% versus 9.0%), and prescription opioid misuse (8.0% versus 4.0%) (Table 2). Females also had a higher prevalence of lifetime alcohol use (53.2% versus 42.0%), lifetime marijuana use (30.9% versus 24.8%), lifetime prescription opioid misuse (14.8% versus 9.5%), and lifetime inhalant use (9.4% versus 6.8%) compared with males. However, males had a higher prevalence of lifetime heroin use (1.6% versus 0.8%) and injection drug use (1.7% versus 0.9%).

Changes in substance use from 2019 to 2021 varied by sex (Table 2). Current alcohol use decreased for both females and males. Males also had a 3.7% absolute decrease and a 30% relative decrease in binge drinking and a 2.1% absolute decrease and a 30% relative decrease in current prescription opioid misuse. Among lifetime use measures, alcohol and marijuana use decreased among both females and males. Decreases also were observed in ecstasy use, cocaine use, and prescription opioid misuse for males. However, for females, a 2.5% absolute increase and a 40% relative increase occurred in inhalant use from 2019 to 2021.

To view the study, click here.