This memorandum is to provide information to school personnel in response to a number of inquiries received by the Special Education Unit from school districts regarding release of student education records to Medicaid for the purpose of billing for related services.
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) of 1974, as amended, and its implementing regulations found at 34 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) §§99.1 through 99.67, governs the privacy of all student educational records. Other than direct exchange of educational records between educational entities involved in the education of a student, FERPA generally prohibits educational agencies or institutions from disclosing personally identifiable information in a student’s educational records without a prior written consent signed and dated by a parent/guardian. This includes the information required for billing Arkansas Medicaid, as well as the information listed in a student’s Individualized Education Program (IEP), which may be required for audit purposes.
For public education agencies not in compliance with this federal requirement, the Arkansas Department of Education (ADE) recommends that parental consent be obtained as soon as possible. Section C of the ADE Informed Consent can be completed as follows to meet FERPA requirements:
Information to be released: Personally-identifiable information/student educational records
Name of third party: Arkansas Medicaid
Purpose of release: Billing for related services
Upon the implementation of IDEA 2004, the ADE will amend the current consent form to include a section for billing Medicaid and amend the section related to billing private insurance. The new ADE Informed Consent will continue to meet the requirements for FERPA, and will comply with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) requirements as well.