School says they don’t keep service logs?

[Nacho]

I requested my child’s records. I was given what I know is only a fraction of what exists, even though the list I sent of what types of records I wanted was pretty comprehensive. One of the things that wasn’t provided was service logs. I asked where they were, and the principal said that none of their providers keep service logs for any of the children in the school, not just my child. This is a title I school with a large percentage of kids having IEPS/receiving services/billing Medicaid.

It’s my understanding that providers have to keep track of services provided so there is a record of if/when a child receives the service minutes that are outlined in their IEP.

My child told me that one entire week they didn’t receive their reading/writing intervention minutes, because the time instead was spent 1:1 with the interventionist administering a school-wide assessment to them, not the reading/writing SDI. The interventionist says my child received all of their service minutes that week, but provided no data to back it up.

What can I do to address this? If they really don’t keep service logs, is this a complaint I should send somewhere? Do I ask again but with different words? Is there a specific piece of statute/case law that addresses this?

 

 

[JSD24]

They need to keep accurate records with billing Medicaid.  If the child was out sick or on a field trip where they weren't in the building, this is Medicaid fraud if no services were rendered which is a serious misuse of taxpayer funds.

Medicaid is administered at the state level so you would need to go to the state with a complaint.  I know where I live (PA), I can go to my state rep or senator with these sorts of issues.  In other states, state legislators are part-time positions and they don't get involved with things like this.  I assume that you could go to the state dept of health & human services or the ed law center in your state with a complaint.  My state has a Health Law Center that could help with this.  Realistically, Medicaid should audit this school since the lack of records increases the likelihood that bills were generated for students who didn't receive them.

Often, the log is a list of students who got services where the names of other students need to be redacted.  Since this takes time, I'd understand that there could be a delay in getting those records to you but they wouldn't be saying that they don't exist - they exist in a form that cannot be shared with a parent w/o editing.  Therapists shoulf be keeping progress notes too.  Those aren't shared with parents but are used to prepare progress reports that are part of the IEP process.  (This might be where billing info come from.)

With the week they did testing, I'd email and request clarification.  If your child's IEP says 30 minutes of reading daily but they actually only spent 15 minutes with 1:1 testing that week, this would be a violation of the IEP.  They need to do what the IEP states and the only time there is an exception is when the student is out due to illness so, technically, they should get services on days when there field trips and assemblies but the reality is that kids need field trips and assemblies when they are happening and IEP services don't happen.  The IEP should probably say that in Sept, Jan and May, there will be one week where the reading interventionist is testing students rather than providing service minutes.  It's a CYA type of thing.  I know my son's IEP says that services start Sept 10 where school starts in August because they are figuring out schedules when school starts plus they do a 4-day weekend with Labor Day.

[Carolyn Rowlett]

Another route you might take (in addition to the Medicaid route, which is the best) is filing a state complaint based on the fact that you do not believe your child is getting the correct number of minutes set forth in the IEP because you cannot get any proof of this from the school.  In a perfect world, the department of education would look at your case but also admonish the school district as a whole that is should be keeping such records.  However, before going down this path, I would reach out to your state department of education (special education department) and see if they actually "care" about this.  You don't want to start this if you won't have any backup from the state.