Notice of Parents' Legal Protections palos118.org/boardpolicy

District provides notice to parents of children with disabilities of all their legal protections when public agencies seek to access public benefits or insurance (Medicaid) to pay for service required under IDEA.

The District:
(i) May not require parents to sign up for or enroll in public benefits or insurance programs in order for their child to receive FAPE

(ii) May not require parents to incur an out-of-pocket expense such as the payment of a deductible or co-pay amount incurred in filing a claim for services provided pursuant to this part, but may pay the cost that the parents otherwise would be required to pay;

(iii) May not use a child's benefits under a public benefits or insurance program if that use would—

(A) Decrease available lifetime coverage or any other insured benefit;

(B) Result in the family paying for services that would otherwise be covered by the public benefits or insurance program and that are required for the child outside of the time the child is in school;

(C) Increase premiums or lead to the discontinuation of benefits or insurance; or

(D) Risk loss of eligibility for home and community-based waivers, based on aggregate health-related expenditures; and

(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, parental consent that—

(A) 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 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

(v) Prior to accessing a child's or parent's public benefits or insurance for the first time, and annually thereafter, must provide written notification to the child's parents, that includes—

(A) A statement of the parental consent

(B) A statement of the “no cost” provision

(C) A statement that the parents have the right to withdraw their consent to disclosure of their child's personally identifiable information to the agency responsible for the administration of the State's public benefits or insurance program (e.g., Medicaid) at any time; and

(D) A statement that the withdrawal of consent or refusal to provide consent to disclose personally identifiable information to the agency responsible for the administration of the State's public benefits or insurance program (e.g., Medicaid) does not relieve the public agency of its responsibility to ensure that all required services are provided at no cost to the parents.