2021 FFY Policy Changes

Outlined below includes clarification of what constitutes billing Medicaid under the SHARS program for purposes of parental consent to access a special education student’s public benefit, as required by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and related federal regulations.

Per 34 CFR 300.154(d)(2)(l)-(iv)

Prior to accessing a child’s or parent’s public benefits or insurance for the first time, and after providing notification to the child’s parents, the district must obtain written and signed, one-time parental consent that

(A) Consent must specify the personally identifiable information that may be disclosed (e.g., records or information about the services that may be provided to a particular child), the purpose of the disclosure (e.g., billing for services), and the agency to which the disclosure may be made (e.g., Medicaid); and

(B) Specifies that the parent understands and agrees that the public agency may access the parent’s or child’s public benefits or insurance to pay for services

Per guidance from the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services of the U.S. Department of Education dated February 10, 2014, school districts participating in the SHARS program are NOT required to and may not obtain the above-referenced parental consent for all students in special education; rather, districts are required to obtain parental consent ONLY for special education students for whom the district will bill Medicaid for providing SHARS services.

HHSC clarifies that billing Medicaid under the SHARS program includes:

1) submitting interim claims for Medicaid-enrolled students; and

2) counting Medicaid enrolled students in the SHARS cost report (e.g., IEP ratio, specialized transportation ratio, one-way trip ratio).

If a district does not have a written/signed one-time parental consent on file for a Medicaid-enrolled student with an IEP that prescribes SHARS services, the district may not submit any interim claims for the student or include the student in its SHARS cost report ratios until such written parental consent is obtained.

If you have any additional questions about this clarification, please contact your Onward Client Success Manager or reach out to us at toll free 1-844-843-1596.

You may also contact the HHSC SHARS staff at ProviderFinanceSHARS@hhs.texas.gov.