Special Transportation

All special transportation arrangements recommended by the Committee on Special Education (CSE) and Committee on Preschool Special Education (CPSE) and identified on the students' Individualized Education Program (IEP) are eligible for Medicaid funding.  Since there is no mandate for regular transportation for preschool children, any transportation required by a preschool child with a disability and indicated on his or her IEP is considered special transportation and eligible for Medicaid reimbursement.

Transportation for all students is mandated pursuant to Section 3635 of the Education Law.  Transportation as a special education service is provided when a student requires specialized transportation equipment, supports or services because of his/her disability [34 CFR 300.24(b)(15)]. 

In determining whether to include special transportation on a student's IEP, the CSE and the CPSE must consider how the student's disability affects the student's need for transportation.  For a preschool child, the CPSE must also consider the site at which special education services will be provided to the child if that site is different from the site at which the child receives other preschool or daycare services.  The process to recommend special transportation should include:

·         Determining if the student's disability prevents the student from accessing the same transportation provided to non-disabled students or from getting to school in the same manner as non-disabled students;

·         Determining if a preschool child will be receiving special education services at a site other than his or her preschool or daycare services; and

·         Documenting recommendations on the IEP as to the specialized equipment, supports or services a student needs to travel to and from or between schools.

  Documentation Requirements for Claiming Medicaid Reimbursement for Special Transportation

Claims for Medicaid reimbursement for special transportation must include the following documentation:

·         Special transportation must be indicated on the student's IEP;

·         The IEP must specify any special transportation, needs as appropriate, as defined in the March 2005 memo entitled Special Transportation for Students with Disabilities, from Rebecca Cort. (Appendix A)

·         Provider attendance sheets for the Medicaid covered related service other than the transportation must be on file; and

·         The schedule/roster for the transportation must be available and have the child’s name, approximate time and address where the child is picked up and dropped off each day and the type of vehicle.

·         Daily attendance on bus must be taken when child is picked up and dropped off from the bus(updated 2/6/07).

·         Transportation departments must be made aware that these are necessary documentation for the claiming of Medicaid services.  The maintenance of this document is mandated in SED ED- Schedule 1.

·         Pursuant to SED Records Retention and Disposition Policy these documents are required under ED-Schedule 1.  These documents must be retained for six years from the date the service was paid.

 

NOTE:  Special transportation can only be billed on a day(s) that a Medicaid reimbursable service was delivered and can only be billed for a round trip.

 

Codes (Fees vary, refer to fee schedules):

 

SSHSP(NYC)                                5496                  PSHSP(NYC)                         5327

 

SSHSP (Nassau, Suff., West.)      5496                  PSHSP( Nassau, Suff., West)      5327

 

SSHSP (Rest of State)                  5496                  PSHSP(Rest of State)                 5327 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fees have been established for each school district.  Please refer to the school district and county rates for all Special Transportation fees at the Medicaid WEB Page (directions for access to the WEB Page are on the last page of this guidebook).