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Board approves contract with August Schools to provide HIPAA-compliant behavioral-health records platform
Summary
The board approved a professional-services contract with August Schools Inc. to provide an electronic behavioral-health record platform to separate clinical records from student cumulative records and facilitate referrals and case management.
The East Baton Rouge Parish School Board on Aug. 21 approved a professional-services contract with August Schools Incorporated for up to $74,340 to provide an electronic behavioral-health record platform for district mental-health and social-work services.
Board discussion focused on how the platform will support tiered services: school-based prevention/intervention (tier 1–3) and intensive services (tier 3/4). District staff said the platform is HIPAA-compliant and will allow counselors, social workers and licensed providers to maintain confidential case notes separate from the student cumulative record, provide referrals and manage treatment plans.
Board members asked how many social workers, counselors and licensed providers the district currently employs. Staff said the district currently has about 27 licensed eye care specialists, roughly 27–30 social workers and about 110 school counselors; the district has increased its social-work and licensed-provider staffing over the past five years. Board members emphasized serving students in alternative settings and asked staff to prioritize high-need campuses in rollout.
Formal action: The professional-services contract for August Schools Incorporated was pulled from the consent agenda for clarification and subsequently approved in a separate vote. The motion to approve the contract carried.
Why it matters: District leaders said the platform will improve referral coordination, case documentation and the confidentiality of clinical notes, and could support Medicaid reimbursement efforts tied to school-based services.
Ending: Staff said the platform will be used by school-based clinicians and that rollout and training will follow contract execution; board members asked staff to prioritize campuses with high concentrations of vulnerable students.
