Minnesota Legislature
Office of the Revisor of Statutes
Minnesota Session Laws - 2002, Regular Session
Key: (1) language to be deleted (2) new language
CHAPTER 294-S.F.No. 2550
An act relating to human services; defining special
instruction and services; modifying consent
requirements for billing medical assistance and
MinnesotaCare for covered individual education plan
services; modifying individualized family service plan
definition; modifying certain mediation procedures;
modifying revenue allocation provisions for special
education; modifying coverage for special education
services; amending Minnesota Statutes 2000, sections
125A.03; 125A.21, subdivision 2; 125A.27, subdivision
10; 125A.43; 125A.76, subdivision 7; 256B.0625,
subdivision 26.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 125A.03, is
amended to read:
125A.03 [SPECIAL INSTRUCTION FOR CHILDREN WITH A
DISABILITY.]
(a) As defined in paragraph (b), every district must
provide special instruction and services, either within the
district or in another district, for children with a disability
who are residents of the district and who are disabled as set
forth in section 125A.02. For purposes of state and federal
special education laws, the phrase "special instruction and
services" in the state education code means a free and
appropriate public education provided to an eligible child with
disabilities and includes special education and related services
defined in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act,
subpart A, section 300.24.
(b) Notwithstanding any age limits in laws to the contrary,
special instruction and services must be provided from birth
until July 1 after the child with a disability becomes 21 years
old but shall not extend beyond secondary school or its
equivalent, except as provided in section 124D.68, subdivision
2. Local health, education, and social service agencies must
refer children under age five who are known to need or suspected
of needing special instruction and services to the school
district. Districts with less than the minimum number of
eligible children with a disability as determined by the
commissioner must cooperate with other districts to maintain a
full range of programs for education and services for children
with a disability. This section does not alter the compulsory
attendance requirements of section 120A.22.
[EFFECTIVE DATE.] This section is effective the day
following final enactment.
Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 125A.21,
subdivision 2, is amended to read:
Subd. 2. [THIRD PARTY REIMBURSEMENT.] (a) Beginning July
1, 2000, districts shall seek reimbursement from insurers and
similar third parties for the cost of services provided by the
district whenever the services provided by the district are
otherwise covered by the child's health coverage. Districts
shall request, but may not require, the child's family to
provide information about the child's health coverage when a
child with a disability begins to receive services from the
district of a type that may be reimbursable, and shall request,
but may not require, updated information after that as needed.
(b) For children enrolled in medical assistance under
chapter 256B or MinnesotaCare under chapter 256L who have no
other health coverage, a district shall provide an initial
written notice to the enrolled child's parent or legal
representative of its intent to seek reimbursement from medical
assistance or MinnesotaCare for the individual education plan
health-related services provided by the district.
(c) The district shall give the parent or legal
representative annual written notice of:
(1) the district's intent to seek reimbursement from
medical assistance or MinnesotaCare for individual education
plan health-related services provided by the district;
(2) the right of the parent or legal representative to
request a copy of all records concerning individual education
plan health-related services disclosed by the district to any
third party; and
(3) the right of the parent or legal representative to
withdraw consent for disclosure of a child's records at any time
without consequence.
The written notice shall be provided as part of the written
notice required by Code of Federal Regulations, title 34,
section 300.503.
Districts shall request, but may not require, the child's
parent or legal representative to sign a consent form,
permitting the school district to apply for and receive
reimbursement directly from the insurer or other similar third
party, to the extent permitted by the insurer or other third
party and subject to their networking credentialing, prior
authorization, and determination of medical necessity criteria.
(d) In order to access the private health care coverage of
a child who is covered by private health care coverage in whole
or in part, a district must:
(1) obtain annual written informed consent from the parent
or legal representative, in compliance with subdivision 5; and
(2) inform the parent or legal representative that a
refusal to permit the district or state Medicaid agency to
access their private health care coverage does not relieve the
district of its responsibility to provide all services necessary
to provide free and appropriate public education at no cost to
the parent or legal representative.
(e) If the commissioner of human services obtains federal
approval to exempt covered individual education plan
health-related services from the requirement that private health
care coverage refuse payment before medical assistance may be
billed, paragraphs (b), (c), and (d), shall also apply to
students with a combination of private health care coverage and
health care coverage through medical assistance or MinnesotaCare.
(f) In the event that Congress or any federal agency or the
Minnesota legislature or any state agency establishes lifetime
limits, limits for any health care services, cost-sharing
provisions, or otherwise provides that individual education plan
health-related services impact benefits for persons enrolled in
medical assistance or MinnesotaCare, the amendments to this
subdivision adopted in 2002 are repealed on the effective date
of any federal or state law or regulation that imposes the
limits. In that event, districts must obtain informed consent
consistent with this subdivision as it existed prior to the 2002
amendments and subdivision 5, before seeking reimbursement for
children enrolled in medical assistance under chapter 256B or
MinnesotaCare under chapter 256L who have no other health care
coverage.
Sec. 3. Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 125A.27,
subdivision 10, is amended to read:
Subd. 10. [INDIVIDUALIZED FAMILY SERVICE PLAN.]
"Individualized family service plan" or "IFSP" means a written
plan for providing services to a child age birth to three years
and the child's family.
[EFFECTIVE DATE.] This section is effective the day
following final enactment.
Sec. 4. Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 125A.43, is
amended to read:
125A.43 [MEDIATION PROCEDURE.]
(a) The commissioner, or the commissioner's designee, of
the state lead agency must use federal funds to provide
mediation for the activities in paragraphs (b) and (c).
(b) A parent may resolve a dispute regarding issues in
section 125A.42, paragraph (b), clause (5), through mediation.
If the parent chooses mediation, all public agencies involved in
the dispute must participate in the mediation process mediation
must be voluntary on the part of the parties. The parent and
the public agencies must complete the mediation process within
30 calendar days of the date the office of dispute resolution
receives a parent's written request for mediation. The
mediation process may not be used to delay a parent's right to a
due process hearing. The resolution of the mediation is not
binding on any party.
(c) Resolution of a dispute through mediation, or other
form of alternative dispute resolution, is not limited to formal
disputes arising from the objection of a parent or guardian and
is not limited to the period following a request for a due
process hearing.
(d) The commissioner shall provide training and resources
to school districts to facilitate early identification of
disputes and access to mediation.
(e) The local primary agency may request mediation on
behalf of involved agencies when there are disputes between
agencies regarding responsibilities to coordinate, provide, pay
for, or facilitate payment for early intervention services.
[EFFECTIVE DATE.] This section is effective the day
following final enactment.
Sec. 5. Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 125A.76,
subdivision 7, is amended to read:
Subd. 7. [REVENUE ALLOCATION FROM COOPERATIVE CENTERS AND
INTERMEDIATES.] For the purposes of this section, a special
education cooperative, a service cooperative, an education
district, or an intermediate district must allocate its approved
expenditures for special education programs among participating
school districts.
[EFFECTIVE DATE.] This section is effective the day
following final enactment.
Sec. 6. Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 256B.0625,
subdivision 26, is amended to read:
Subd. 26. [SPECIAL EDUCATION SERVICES.] (a) Medical
assistance covers medical services identified in a recipient's
individualized education plan and covered under the medical
assistance state plan. Covered services include occupational
therapy, physical therapy, speech-language therapy, clinical
psychological services, nursing services, school psychological
services, school social work services, personal care assistants
serving as management aides, assistive technology devices,
transportation services, health assessments, and other services
covered under the medical assistance state plan. Mental health
services eligible for medical assistance reimbursement must be
provided or coordinated through a children's mental health
collaborative where a collaborative exists if the child is
included in the collaborative operational target population.
The provision or coordination of services does not require that
the individual education plan be developed by the collaborative.
The services may be provided by a Minnesota school district
that is enrolled as a medical assistance provider or its
subcontractor, and only if the services meet all the
requirements otherwise applicable if the service had been
provided by a provider other than a school district, in the
following areas: medical necessity, physician's orders,
documentation, personnel qualifications, and prior authorization
requirements. The nonfederal share of costs for services
provided under this subdivision is the responsibility of the
local school district as provided in section 125A.74. Services
listed in a child's individual education plan are eligible for
medical assistance reimbursement only if those services meet
criteria for federal financial participation under the Medicaid
program.
(b) Approval of health-related services for inclusion in
the individual education plan does not require prior
authorization for purposes of reimbursement under this chapter.
The commissioner may require physician review and approval of
the plan not more than once annually or upon any modification of
the individual education plan that reflects a change in
health-related services.
(c) Services of a speech-language pathologist provided
under this section are covered notwithstanding Minnesota Rules,
part 9505.0390, subpart 1, item L, if the person:
(1) holds a masters degree in speech-language pathology;
(2) is licensed by the Minnesota board of teaching as an
educational speech-language pathologist; and
(3) either has a certificate of clinical competence from
the American Speech and Hearing Association, has completed the
equivalent educational requirements and work experience
necessary for the certificate or has completed the academic
program and is acquiring supervised work experience to qualify
for the certificate.
(d) Medical assistance coverage for medically necessary
services provided under other subdivisions in this section may
not be denied solely on the basis that the same or similar
services are covered under this subdivision.
(e) The commissioner shall develop and implement package
rates, bundled rates, or per diem rates for special education
services under which separately covered services are grouped
together and billed as a unit in order to reduce administrative
complexity.
(f) The commissioner shall develop a cost-based payment
structure for payment of these services.
(g) Effective July 1, 2000, medical assistance services
provided under an individual education plan or an individual
family service plan by local school districts shall not count
against medical assistance authorization thresholds for that
child.
(h) Nursing services as defined in section 148.171,
subdivision 15, and provided as an individual education plan
health-related service, are eligible for medical assistance
payment if they are otherwise a covered service in the medical
assistant program.
[EFFECTIVE DATE.] This section is effective the day
following final enactment.
Presented to the governor March 25, 2002
Signed by the governor March 26, 2002, 2:33 p.m.
Official Publication of the State of Minnesota
Revisor of Statutes