Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the School Health topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Committee advances bill to expand in‑school behavioral‑health services after debate over IEP conflicts
Summary
Lawmakers amended and advanced HB 352 to allow medically necessary behavioral‑health therapy during the school day for students with autism and other needs. School leaders and special‑education officials warned the panel about possible conflicts with IEPs and increased due‑process complaints; sponsors agreed to work with the Department of Education on dispute procedures before floor consideration.
Representative Mack presented House Bill 352 and a package of amendments intended to ensure students with autism and other behavioral‑health needs can receive medically necessary therapy during the school day without losing access to required educational services.
"HP 352 is intended to ensure that students with autism and other behavioral‑health needs have access to medically necessary therapy services during the school day," Representative Mack (speaker 2) said, and the committee adopted a set of amendments (including amendment package 38‑12) to address earlier concerns.
School administrators and special‑education officials described both the benefits and operational challenges of bringing outside behavioral‑health providers into schools. Mindy Vanhoven (speaker 22), director of special education in St. Charles Parish, said positive partnerships exist but cautioned that a small number of adversarial provider relationships could disrupt services and lead to additional due‑process complaints. "When we don't have those positive relationships, the child's performance is impacted," Vanhoven said, adding that an uptick in formal complaints would raise districts' monitoring burdens.
Committee members discussed how treatment plans provided by contracted behavioral‑health providers might conflict with students' individualized education programs (IEPs). The sponsor and legislators agreed to work with the Department of Education to develop a less formal dispute‑resolution pathway specific to contracted behavioral services, rather than forcing each conflict into an IEP due‑process track.
Senator Andrews moved to report the bill favorable as amended; the committee adopted amendments and agreed to continue refining dispute procedures ahead of floor action.
Why it matters: HB 352 seeks to deliver therapy that schools may not otherwise be resourced to provide, but it raises practical questions about how contracted clinical plans interact with IEPs, who has authority at the school or district level to remove or manage providers, and how disputes will be resolved without disrupting students' access to education.
