1.1                          A bill for an act
  1.2             relating to human services; modifying requirements for 
  1.3             billing medical assistance and MinnesotaCare for 
  1.4             covered individual education plan services; amending 
  1.5             provisions relating to special education; amending 
  1.6             Minnesota Statutes 2000, sections 125A.03; 125A.27, 
  1.7             subdivision 10; 125A.76, subdivision 7; 256B.0625, 
  1.8             subdivision 26; Minnesota Statutes 2001 Supplement, 
  1.9             section 125A.09, subdivision 3; proposing coding for 
  1.10            new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 125A. 
  1.11  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.12     Section 1.  [125A.021] [DEPARTMENT DUTY.] 
  1.13     The department of children, families, and learning shall 
  1.14  enforce all federal and state laws, federal regulations, and 
  1.15  state rules for special education. 
  1.16     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 125A.03, is 
  1.17  amended to read: 
  1.18     125A.03 [SPECIAL INSTRUCTION FOR CHILDREN WITH A 
  1.19  DISABILITY.] 
  1.20     (a) As defined in paragraph (b), every district or other 
  1.21  entity providing public education must provide special 
  1.22  instruction and a free appropriate public education through 
  1.23  specialized instruction and related services, either within the 
  1.24  district or in another district, for all children with a 
  1.25  disability who are residents of the district and who are 
  1.26  disabled as set forth in section 125A.02 in conformance with 
  1.27  sections 121A.40 to 121A.56. 
  1.28     (b) Notwithstanding any age limits in laws to the contrary, 
  2.1   special instruction and related services must be provided from 
  2.2   birth until July 1 after the child with a disability becomes 21 
  2.3   years old but shall not extend beyond secondary school or its 
  2.4   equivalent, except as provided in section 124D.68, subdivision 
  2.5   2.  Local health, education, and social service agencies must 
  2.6   refer children under age five who are known to need or suspected 
  2.7   of needing special instruction and services to the school 
  2.8   district.  Districts with less than the minimum number of 
  2.9   eligible children with a disability as determined by the 
  2.10  commissioner must cooperate with other districts to maintain a 
  2.11  full range of programs for education and services for children 
  2.12  with a disability.  This section does not alter the compulsory 
  2.13  attendance requirements of section 120A.22. 
  2.14     Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 2001 Supplement, section 
  2.15  125A.09, subdivision 3, is amended to read: 
  2.16     Subd. 3.  [INITIAL ACTION; PARENT CONSENT.] (a) The 
  2.17  district must not proceed with the initial formal assessment of 
  2.18  a child, the initial placement of a child in a special education 
  2.19  program, or the initial provision of special education services 
  2.20  for a child without the prior written consent of the child's 
  2.21  parent or guardian.  The refusal of a parent or guardian to 
  2.22  consent to an initial evaluation or reevaluation may be 
  2.23  overridden by the decision in a hearing held pursuant to 
  2.24  subdivision 6 at the district's initiative. 
  2.25     (b) A parent, after consulting with health care, education, 
  2.26  or other professional providers, may agree or disagree to 
  2.27  provide the parent's child with sympathomimetic medications 
  2.28  unless section 144.344 applies.  
  2.29     Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 125A.27, 
  2.30  subdivision 10, is amended to read: 
  2.31     Subd. 10.  [INDIVIDUALIZED FAMILY SERVICE PLAN.] 
  2.32  "Individualized family service plan" or "IFSP" means a written 
  2.33  plan for providing services to a child age birth to three years 
  2.34  and the child's family.  
  2.35     Sec. 5.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 125A.76, 
  2.36  subdivision 7, is amended to read: 
  3.1      Subd. 7.  [REVENUE ALLOCATION FROM COOPERATIVE CENTERS AND 
  3.2   INTERMEDIATES.] For the purposes of this section, a special 
  3.3   education cooperative, a service cooperative, an education 
  3.4   district, or an intermediate district must allocate its approved 
  3.5   expenditures for special education programs among participating 
  3.6   school districts. 
  3.7      Sec. 6.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 256B.0625, 
  3.8   subdivision 26, is amended to read: 
  3.9      Subd. 26.  [SPECIAL EDUCATION SERVICES.] (a) Medical 
  3.10  assistance covers medical services identified in a recipient's 
  3.11  individualized education plan and covered under the medical 
  3.12  assistance state plan.  Covered services include occupational 
  3.13  therapy, physical therapy, speech-language therapy, clinical 
  3.14  psychological services, nursing services, school psychological 
  3.15  services, school social work services, personal care assistants 
  3.16  serving as management aides, assistive technology devices, 
  3.17  transportation services, health assessments, and other services 
  3.18  covered under the medical assistance state plan.  Mental health 
  3.19  services eligible for medical assistance reimbursement must be 
  3.20  provided or coordinated through a children's mental health 
  3.21  collaborative where a collaborative exists if the child is 
  3.22  included in the collaborative operational target population.  
  3.23  The provision or coordination of services does not require that 
  3.24  the individual education plan be developed by the collaborative. 
  3.25     The services may be provided by a Minnesota school district 
  3.26  that is enrolled as a medical assistance provider or its 
  3.27  subcontractor, and only if the services meet all the 
  3.28  requirements otherwise applicable if the service had been 
  3.29  provided by a provider other than a school district, in the 
  3.30  following areas:  medical necessity, physician's orders, 
  3.31  documentation, personnel qualifications, and prior authorization 
  3.32  requirements.  The nonfederal share of costs for services 
  3.33  provided under this subdivision is the responsibility of the 
  3.34  local school district as provided in section 125A.74.  Services 
  3.35  listed in a child's individual education plan are eligible for 
  3.36  medical assistance reimbursement only if those services meet 
  4.1   criteria for federal financial participation under the Medicaid 
  4.2   program.  
  4.3      (b) Approval of health-related services for inclusion in 
  4.4   the individual education plan does not require prior 
  4.5   authorization for purposes of reimbursement under this chapter.  
  4.6   The commissioner may require physician review and approval of 
  4.7   the plan not more than once annually or upon any modification of 
  4.8   the individual education plan that reflects a change in 
  4.9   health-related services. 
  4.10     (c) Services of a speech-language pathologist provided 
  4.11  under this section are covered notwithstanding Minnesota Rules, 
  4.12  part 9505.0390, subpart 1, item L, if the person: 
  4.13     (1) holds a masters degree in speech-language pathology; 
  4.14     (2) is licensed by the Minnesota board of teaching as an 
  4.15  educational speech-language pathologist; and 
  4.16     (3) either has a certificate of clinical competence from 
  4.17  the American Speech and Hearing Association, has completed the 
  4.18  equivalent educational requirements and work experience 
  4.19  necessary for the certificate or has completed the academic 
  4.20  program and is acquiring supervised work experience to qualify 
  4.21  for the certificate. 
  4.22     (d) Medical assistance coverage for medically necessary 
  4.23  services provided under other subdivisions in this section may 
  4.24  not be denied solely on the basis that the same or similar 
  4.25  services are covered under this subdivision. 
  4.26     (e) The commissioner shall develop and implement package 
  4.27  rates, bundled rates, or per diem rates for special education 
  4.28  services under which separately covered services are grouped 
  4.29  together and billed as a unit in order to reduce administrative 
  4.30  complexity.  
  4.31     (f) The commissioner shall develop a cost-based payment 
  4.32  structure for payment of these services.  
  4.33     (g) Effective July 1, 2000, medical assistance services 
  4.34  provided under an individual education plan or an individual 
  4.35  family service plan by local school districts shall not count 
  4.36  against medical assistance authorization thresholds for that 
  5.1   child. 
  5.2      (h) Nursing services as defined in section 148.171, 
  5.3   subdivision 15, and provided as an individual education plan 
  5.4   health-related service, are eligible for medical assistance 
  5.5   payment if they are otherwise a covered service in the medical 
  5.6   assistant program. 
  5.7      (i) By July 1, 2003, the commissioner shall develop and 
  5.8   implement a fixed billing process for special education 
  5.9   transportation services on a per-trip or per-day rate based on 
  5.10  actual cost data. 
  5.11     <b>[EFFECTIVE DATE.]</b> This section is effective the day 
  5.12  following final enactment.