Special education audit update: William Penn SD staff report high claim conversion, $600,000 available to offset costs

Kate Crossett, a special education staff member, presented the Education Committee with an update on actions following a special education audit conducted by the Chester County Intermediate Unit (CCIU) and on the district's school‑based access (Medicaid) claiming processes.

Crossett summarized vendor and system roles. She said the state uses a vendor called SSG to provide monthly claim summaries, analysis and denial reports. She described FAI — the district's Financial Accounting/Interim payment account — and said the district currently has approximately $600,000 available in that account accumulated since about the 2021–22 school year. "Currently, we have approximately $600,000 in funds available to draw down on at present that has been accumulating, for several years now since roughly the 21‑22 school year," Crossett said.

On recent claiming performance, Crossett presented an example month in which staff submitted 60 claims; 58 were approved and two were denied because the students were not Medicaid eligible, a 97% conversion for that sample. She described typical returns on investment for the program as "generally somewhere between 18 to 30 cents on the dollar," and explained that interim payments arrive periodically while a year‑end cost settlement is paid as a lump sum.

Crossett outlined operational details that board members asked about: district staff run family eligibility through a state database called Promise every month; providers are asked to submit logs frequently (recommended weekly; PCAs often submit in real time); the state allows up to 180 days to file a claim from the point of service; and a medical provider authorization and document review process underpins the state's cost settlement extrapolations. She described a "random moment time study" process used for certain time‑sampling documentation and stressed the need to organize provider credentials and logs to maximize returns.

Board members raised concerns about implementation timelines and corrective action. Board member Miss Roberts asked whether the district knows Medicaid eligibility at the beginning of the year; Crossett said eligibility must be checked monthly. Several members (Miss Roberts, Miss Richardson, Miss Boykins) urged clearer corrective‑action timelines and earlier implementation of recommendations from the CCIU audit. Crossett said the district is prioritizing five top areas from the audit: administrative capacity and compliance risk, growing special education needs and program development, consistency and standardization gaps (noting the district has "one of the highest student to special education administrator ratios in Delaware County" according to the CCIU), financial implications and strategic investment, and collaboration and communication challenges.

Members also asked about services gaps and compensatory measures. Miss Milio said a speech therapist had been on leave and students had not had speech services for about a month; Crossett said a communication process for notifying parents exists and asked to follow up with the principal and special education liaison. Miss Hoff reminded the committee that compensatory education procedures have been assigned to leaders to address missed services; Crossett agreed to follow up.

Crossett said the district is proposing to draw down on a portion of the accumulated FAI funds to offset current contracted costs for PCAs, occupational therapy and physical therapy. She described the district's approach as seeking to document services appropriately, work with the CCIU on implementation, and improve administrative capacity. No formal vote was taken; staff presented recommendations and implementation priorities for further committee review.