New Hampshire subcommittee presses DOE on special-education aid process, data and Medicaid interactions

The New Hampshire Legislature’s Special Education Aid Subcommittee heard an overview Tuesday of how the state collects and reviews costs for special-education services and catastrophic or “Catastrophic Aid,” and members pressed the Department of Education for more consistent financial data and clearer rules about Medicaid and out-of-state providers.

Chair of the subcommittee opened the meeting by saying the session was the panel’s third, calling attention to prior testimony from HHS and district directors and saying the group aims to address state aid shortfalls that force local districts to cover special-education costs from general funds. “We learned a lot,” the chair said, noting a prior estimate from HHS that the state currently receives about $8,800,000 from Medicaid for school services and may be leaving roughly $4 million to $5 million on the table.

The issue matters to districts statewide because the department prorates the dollar pool for catastrophic aid when total eligible claims exceed the appropriation; the chair said that proration this year is “roughly around 68%.” That shortfall, subcommittee members said, leaves local districts to absorb a large share of costs for high-need students.

Rebecca Ferdette, Director of Special Education Services at the New Hampshire Department of Education, described current data and upload requirements and how invoices are reviewed for special-education aid. “NESIS, the New Hampshire Special Education Information System, is used by every district in the state and every child in special education must be entered into NESIS,” Ferdette said. She added that six districts do not use NESIS to develop individualized education programs (IEPs) but do provide required data points.

Ferdette explained how financial claims are tied to the IEP and reviewed in the financial…