Weekly Legislative Highlights: September 17 through September 21, 2007
Updated September 24, 2007
*NCLB Reauthorization Update
*Appointment of FRN Members for 2008
*The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Issue Rule to Cut Funding to School Districts
NCLB Reauthorization Update
As you are aware, the Miller-McKeon discussion draft to amend Titles I through XI of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) has recently been released. NSBA has submitted initial comments on Title I and Titles II – XI. Our comments and recommendations are preliminary as we continue to review the language. Additionally, Mike Resnick, NSBA Associate Executive Director, testified on NSBA’s initial review of the Miller-McKeon discussion draft before the House Committee on Education and Labor. We are expecting the House Education and Labor Committee to release its bill within the next few weeks.
Appointment of FRN Members for 2008
The following memo on FRN Membership Appointments for 2008 was sent to Executive Directors this week, along with directions for appointing new FRN members. We greatly appreciate your help to expand our FRN program.
View the memo at http://files.nsba.org/advocacy/FRNMembersMemo.doc.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Issue Rule to Cut Funding to School Districts
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that it plans to restrict federal reimbursements for certain school-based Medicaid services provided to students with disabilities. The proposed rule (CMS-2287-P) published in the Federal Register on September 7, would eliminate federal reimbursement under the Medicaid program for the costs of certain administrative activities (such as Medicaid outreach, program planning, referral and monitoring, and certain types of transportation) based on a Secretarial finding that these activities are “not necessary for the proper and efficient administration of the state plan.” As a result, schools would no longer be eligible to receive federal Medicaid payments for the administrative activities performed by school employees or contractors as well as for transporting disabled students from home to school and back.
NSBA is disappointed that the Administration has issued this rule, despite numerous calls and letters from the education community opposing this action. NSBA will be submitting comments within the 60-day window to respond to the proposed rule. In the interim, NSBA urges school board members to contact their members of Congress to object to these cuts. Please visit Reimbursement for School-Based Medicaid Services on NSBA’s Legislative Action Center, select to learn more, select write a message at the bottom of the page, enter your email address to log-in, and check form letter to access the prewritten letter, edit and send.
Your message should be:
“Congress Must Stop CMS from Cutting Funding to School Districts”
• The rule (CMS-2287-P) will impose a significant financial burden on local school districts, which is estimated to cost $3.6 billion over five years. As a result, school districts will be forced to cut education services or replace lost Medicaid dollars with additional state and local taxpayer dollars.
• The rule (CMS-2287-P) will make it more difficult for schools to provide needed services to students with disabilities at a time when the federal government is already woefully behind in their commitment to fund special education.
• The rule will deny federal payment for services such as outfitting buses with specialized equipment, transporting children to school for their medical appointments, identifying students who need screenings and evaluations, and connecting children and their families with other needed services in their community.
Please provide any feedback on your communication to kbranch@nsba.org or call 800.609.NSBA, ext. 6. (Your feedback on your contacts with your members’ offices helps our lobbying efforts tremendously.) For more background information, please go to the Medicaid section of our Advocacy website.