Special Education Update

Specialized transportation is transportation to a medically necessary service provided in a specially adapted vehicle that has been physically adjusted or designed to meet the needs of the individual student with a disability. Specialized transportation must be specified in a student’s Individualized Education Program (IEP) for it to be covered by Medicaid.

Specialized adaptations can include, but are not limited to, the following:

✓ Special harnesses

✓ Wheelchair lifts

✓ Ramps

✓ Specialized environmental controls

✓ Specialized suspension systems,

✓ And other modification to a vehicle as required by a student’s IEP.

When specialized transportation is necessary primarily to ensure that the child’s medical

needs are met and the need for such specialized transportation is specified in a child’s

IEP, then Medicaid payment is available for specialized transportation to and from

school for days when the child receives a Medicaid-covered service.

For specialized transportation to be eligible for Medicaid payment, the following criteria must be met:

* The student has a written IEP.

* Specialized transportation (and the specific adaptation) is noted in the IEP as a medically necessary service.

* The student is enrolled in Medicaid.

* The student receives a Medicaid-covered IEP service on the day that transportation is claimed.

* The service billed represents only the costs associated with the trip on the specially adapted transportation vehicle for direct medical services (or administrative claiming) as listed in the

IEP (e.g., the one-way trip).

In all cases, the medical need for physical or environmental adaptations during transport

from home to school and back home (or to an alternative site to receive the IEP service)

must be identified in the IEP to receive reimbursement for specialized transportation.

Note that the presence of only an aide (on a non-adapted bus/vehicle) or simple seat

belts does not make a vehicle specially adapted. See the table below for more

scenarios of allowable and unallowable specialized transportation one-way trips.

Annually, the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs, requires the Pennsylvania DeafBlind Project to conduct the National DeafBlind Child Count. The DeafBlind Child Count records the number of infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and students who have deafblindness or who are at risk of developing deafblindness, and who are enrolled in early intervention or special education as of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) child count on December 1, 2024.

You must verify and submit your information no later than February 7, 2025.

Please be aware that for the DeafBlind Child Count, the federal definition of deafblindness is more inclusive and extensive than the one used for the IDEA child count. From birth through 21 years old, children should be reported in the count if they meet one or more of the following criteria:

* Infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and students who have a diagnosis of deafblindness and/or receive both vision and hearing support services;
* Infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and students who have a mild to profound hearing loss and mild to profound vision loss with correction that still requires adaptations or modifications;
* Infants and toddlers (ages birth-to-3; i.e. Part C) who have a diagnosis that places them at risk for an intellectual disability with inconsistent responses to visual input and sound. (At risk means a diagnosis that does not guarantee hearing/vision loss); or
* Infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and students with multiple disabilities who may demonstrate inconsistent responses to visual input and sound.

* Log in with your username and password at https://www.leaderservices.com/_DBcensus

Join us for a webinar where we plan to help familiarize you and your team on the ins-and-outs of the 2024 PA DeafBlind Child Count. We will discuss:

• What the count is

• Who should be responsible for submission on the count

• Who should be included in the count

• Common pitfalls regarding identification

• A live walkthrough for the inclusion of a new record
  
  

Both webinars will cover the same topics and will be recorded, so select the time that works best for you! Registration links are below.

Date/Time: Tuesday, January 7 @ 10:00 AM (ET)

https://pattaneast-net.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_C0YYM50_Stm1hKOzDM2WSA

Date/Time: Thursday, January 9 @ 2:00 PM (ET)

https://pattaneast-net.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_GtCZPC5dTB-J2EkYglhfZA

Agencies serving a population under 50,000 and special district governments have until April 26, 2027 to comply.

Report Quarter 2 by January 15, 2025.

FBAs should be completed within the three tier MTSS model. However, MTSS may not be used to delay access to Special Education if an evaluation is requested or clearly needed. Parent permission should be secured to conduct an FBA.