SPECIAL REPORT Transportation staff currently use routing software
to support route planning. “While it doesn’t track atten- dance directly, this capability is expected once we fully implement the software,” Lemke said, adding the goal is to have it fully operational to support Medicaid track- ing this school year. “We’re working to streamline this process into one centralized system. The shared Google sheet we currently use has been very effective for trans- parency across departments, so we’re optimistic that routing will further enhance that.” Services provided by an outside firm are central to
Medicaid reporting at Hutto Independent School Dis- trict, where the number of special needs riders has been growing. Currently, the school district located northeast of Austin, Texas transports 242 special needs students out of 4,568 total riders, an increase of 14 percent from last year. This necessitates running 15 routes for students with individualized education pgrams and 35 general routes with some specialty shuttles and McKinney-Vento routes as well, noted David Uecker, director of transportation. “A contractor does the filing for us,” Uecker says. “We
submit rider counts to the company with our [special education] department handling the reporting.” Hutto leaders plan to enhance reporting with the im- plementation of new software. Slated for full adoption in
the spring, that move will support tracking of riders with disabilities. Some school districts have elected not to pursue Med-
icaid reimbursements, at least for now. That’s the case at Deer Creek School District in Edmond, Oklahoma. The district currently utilizes eight routes to transport 100 students with IEPs each school day but meets those demands without additional federal funding. “The time it takes to go through the reimbursement
process makes it difficult to pursue and maintain dis- trictwide,” said Robert Feinberg, transportation director, echoing a common sentiment of peers nationwide. At the same time, that decision is subject to review. “There is always a possibility of us beginning to use
the program,” Feinberg noted. “Our district will continue to evaluate the process versus the manpower it would take to submit the claims.” He said one scenario that might prompt Deer Creek to begin seeking Medicaid funding would be if the school district experienced a large influx of students who meet reimbursement re- quirements.
Making It Work Dealing with the federal government is never simple, and the Medicaid reimbursement process is no exception.
22 School Transportation News • JANUARY 2025
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