Wyo. Code R. 206-0002-14
General Agency, Board or Commission Rules
Chapter 14: Education Program Approval of Public & Private Institutions Receiving State Funds for the Education Costs of Students Placed by a Court Order
Effective Date: 07/06/2016 to 11/03/2016
Rule Type: Expired Emergency Rules & Regulations
Reference Number: 206.0002.14.07062016
Emergency rules are no longer in effect 120 days after filing with the Secretary of State.
These rules are promulgated pursuant to W.S. 21-13-315 and W.S. 21-13-336.
These rules apply to education programming and payments for all public and private facilities in and out of Wyoming.
(a) 'Approved program' means an education program that meets standards, procedures, and policies established by the Wyoming State Board of Education and the Wyoming Department of Education.
(b) 'Board' means the Wyoming State Board of Education.
(c) 'Department' means the Wyoming Department of Education.
(d) 'Education program' means education services including, but not limited to, the course of study, curriculum, certified personnel, professional development policies, general supervision, compliance with law, and any other education-related practices required by the Board or Department.
(e) 'Facilities' means a PRTF, RTC, or Group Home, existing in or out of Wyoming.
(f) 'Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facility' (PRTF) means facilities defined by the Wyoming Department of Health, Wyoming Medicaid Rules, Chapter 1.
(g) 'Residential Treatment Center' (RTC) means facilities defined and licensed by the Wyoming Department of Family Services. Administrative Rules for Certification of Providers of Substitute Care Services for Children, Chapter 10.
(h) 'Group Home' means facilities defined and licensed by the Wyoming Department of Family Services. Administrative Rules for Certification of Providers of Substitute Care Services for Children, Chapter 7.
(i) 'Resident school district' means district designated by the juvenile court in a placement order when child is placed in state custody or where the student's custodial parent resides at the time of the child's placement.
To obtain Board and Department approval for education programming, facilities shall:
(a) Comply with the following requirements:
(i) Be licensed by all authorities as necessary to operate as a PRTF, RTC, or Group Home in the jurisdiction that the facility is located;
(ii) Obtain Accreditation through the Board and Department's accreditation process for all institutional schools pursuant to Department of Education, General Agency Board of Commissioner Rules, Chapter 26.
(iii) Comply with Department's initial inspection process and receive subsequent Board approval.
(iv) Create and monitor an Individualized Learning Plan for the student if facility is providing educational programming consistent with W.S. 21-13-336(h). If necessary, work cooperatively with resident district to develop an Individualized Education Program.
(v) Consistent with W.S. 21-13-336 (g), all facilities providing educational services shall comply with the provisions of the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act. Not later than ten (10) days after release of the student from the facility, all educational records shall be transferred via a secure method to the resident school district or the district in which the student enrolls upon release.
(b) Provide assurances of compliance with section 4(a) of this chapter by:
(i) Annually submitting assurances of compliance with section 4(a)(i)-(v);
(ii) Copies of state licenses;
(iii) For PRTFs only, confirmation of Wyoming Medicaid enrollment;
(iv) As an ongoing obligation after initial approval, facilities shall be available for an on-site review of its education program and desk audit by the Department at any time, subject to reasonable notice provided by the Department before the review or audit.
Section 5. Fiscal Management and Payment of Education Costs.
To qualify for payment of educational costs by the Department for student placements, facilities shall:
(a) Provide the facility's current school year calendar including:
(i) Actual school days;
(ii) vacation/holidays; and
(iii) actual school hours: start time, passing time if any, lunch, dismissal;
(b) Provide a signed court order placing student in a PRTF, RTC, or Group Home. For PRTF's only, in lieu of a court order, provide written documentation evidencing an approved placement authorization from the Wyoming Department of Health-Medicaid stating that the placement is medically necessary for purposes of benefit eligibility under W.S. 42-4-103(a)(xvi).
(c) Meet the minimum standards for an approved education program and hold an approved status to be eligible for payment.
(d) Submit an itemized invoice per student per month, detailing the number of days of educational services delivered. The billing shall identify each day of education or education related costs. Only those costs authorized by the Department shall be paid.
(e) If the facility is required to conduct a federal single audit, it shall provide a copy of the audit results to the Department within thirty days of receipt.
(f) Comply with the Department’s established forms and audit procedures used to verify the accuracy of bills submitted for payment and to ensure there are no payments of public funds made for costs not authorized by these rules.
(g) Provide to the Department, or its consultant, a current annual financial statement audited by a certified public accountant to verify the facility is operating in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.
(h) Provide to the Department, Wyoming Department of Family Services, and the Wyoming Department of Health - Medicaid, as applicable, notice of and information about intake or admission and discharge of a student within 72 hours of facility action. The Wyoming Department of Health – Medicaid must be notified of each admission and discharge for all Wyoming Medicaid- covered youth within 72 hours of facility action.
(i) Facilities are required to establish the responsible party for paying education costs at time of intake.
The Wyoming Department of Family Services, Wyoming Department of Health-Medicaid, and the Department shall annually collect and analyze allowable costs for room and board, health care, and educational services. The Department pays a daily tuition rate to each facility to reimburse allowable education costs based on a market analysis and evaluation of actual costs. The education daily tuition rates are calculated based on audited and reported annual financial statements from each facility. Rate setting shall be subject to 2016 Wyo. Sess. Laws. 358.
(a) Tuition calculation for in-state facilities will be based on the following:
(i) Normalize facility financial statements to an equivalent reporting period to adjust for difference in fiscal year versus calendar year reporting.
(ii) Determine administrative costs and median allowable value for each facility peer group.
(iii) Exclude administrative costs exceeding the median.
(iv) Divide allowable education costs by the actual reported educational days for each facility.
(v) Adjust tuition rate for inflation.
(b) New in-state facilities that begin operations after the current rate setting period will have a temporary rate set equal to the average of their in-state peer group. Their rate will be reset after they are able to participate in the annual rate setting process outlined in Section 7(a) of this chapter.
(c) Tuition calculation for out-of-state facilities will be based on the following:
(i) If the state’s governing education body sets a provider rate, the Department shall order that rate.
(ii) If the state’s governing education body does not set a provider rate, the facility shall follow the procedure for determining in-state rates.
(b) New out-of-state facilities will be paid at the rate set by the state’s governing education body. If the state’s governing education body does not set a rate, the Department shall set an initial rate as reflected in section 7(b) of this Chapter.
(c) Related and supplemental aids and service rates are paid according to the current Wyoming Medicaid fee schedule rate or a rate determined by the Department consultant using the Bureau of Labor statistics market data. The mileage rate for transportation reimbursement is set by the Wyoming Governor. All supplemental aids and services provided to Wyoming Medicaid-covered youth that are eligible for reimbursement by Wyoming Medicaid must be billed to Wyoming Medicaid for payment. The Department shall not pay for related or supplemental services that are eligible for reimbursement by a private insurance plan or public benefit unless submitting a claim to private insurance would cause any expense to the child’s family or affect any future benefit.
In accordance with W.S. 21-13-315(b), if a student is placed by a court order, a district may include the student among its membership provided that it is offering educational services. Districts providing educational services directly to students placed in psychiatric residential treatment facilities under W.S. 21-13-336 or contracting with another district to provide the educational services shall continue to include the student in its membership. Districts shall dis-enroll students if the psychiatric residential treatment facility provides all educational services. Costs related to out-of-district placements for students on an IEP should be recovered by complying with WDE reimbursable special education expenditure reporting requirements rather than including the student among the district's membership.
(a) Every resident school district is responsible for monitoring progress of students placed in facilities and ensuring that transitioning students are reasonably accommodated to ensure academic progress commensurate with peer group. This includes all IDEA responsibilities. Students transitioning from the facility to the resident school district will be counted in resident school district graduation rates.
(b) Every resident school district shall create and monitor an Individualized Learning Plan for the student if the facility is providing educational programming consistent with W.S. 21-13-336(h). If the resident school district contracts with another school district to provide educational programming to a student placed in a facility, nothing in the contract shall absolve the resident school district from responsibility to create and implement the Individualized Learning Plan.
(a) The Department will only pay education costs to facilities consistent with the provisions of this chapter.
(b) Failure to comply with this chapter may result in education payments being denied.
(c) Denial, suspension, or revocation of education program approval or denial of any payment shall constitute final agency action subject to judicial review.