Resources

Colorado conducted a pilot study in 2019 to better understand the financial impact of expanding its school Medicaid program and make data-informed decisions about how best to move forward with a state plan amendment. This case study details Colorado’s path toward expanding its school Medicaid program and highlights key lessons learned from this work. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services approved the amendment in 2020.

In April 2020, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services approved California’s Medicaid state plan amendment, allowing school districts to access more federal funding for school-based health services. This report describes using this opportunity to increase access to services that help students heal from trauma — including the trauma caused by exposure to domestic violence and pervasive bias and crises such as COVID-19.

This case study examines the implementation of Medicaid managed care school-based behavioral health services in South Carolina and highlights key lessons learned that can inform the efforts of other states choosing to coordinate school-based health care with Medicaid managed care programs.

Healthy Schools Campaign and Trust for America’s Health are monitoring the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on students and schools and highlighting guidance from our federal and national partners on how to support access to behavioral and physical health services.

This case study provides an overview of trauma-informed schools and highlights California’s approaches for supporting safe and supportive learning environments by increasing access to trauma-informed services and supports in schools.

This case study highlights Tennessee’s work to leverage the nation’s education law, the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), to support the critical connection between health and learning. Tennessee’s inclusion of health and wellness in its ESSA plan and the guidance developed to support district-level implementation provide best practices and lessons learned for states striving to support student health and wellness through education policy and practice.

Under a Healthy Students, Promising Futures technical assistance contract, Rebecca Gudeman from the National Center for Youth Law developed this tool (Appendix C) to support efforts to share school health information and data for the HSPF state team in Colorado.

Also see:
Main Tool: Legal Guide to School Health Information and Data Sharing in Colorado
Appendix B: A Quick Reference Chart to Confidentiality Laws

Under a Healthy Students, Promising Futures technical assistance contract, Rebecca Gudeman from the National Center for Youth Law developed this tool (Appendix B) to support efforts to share school health information and data for the HSPF state team in Colorado.

Also see:
Main Tool: Legal Guide to School Health Information and Data Sharing in Colorado
Appendix C: A Quick Reference Chart to Confidentiality Laws

Under a Healthy Students, Promising Futures technical assistance contract, Rebecca Gudeman from the National Center for Youth Law developed this tool to support efforts to share school health information and data for the HSPF state team in Colorado.

Also see:
Appendix B: Colorado Minor Consent and Confidentiality Laws
Appendix C: A Quick Reference Chart to Confidentiality Laws

This comprehensive guide provides background on school-based Medicaid and outlines various opportunities to advance state policy changes required to access federal funds. It is designed for anyone working to expand access to school health services, including state and local education agency staff, state Medicaid agencies, school health providers, public health professionals and children’s health advocates.

Key opportunities exist for education, healthcare and public health sectors to improve both health and education outcomes by focusing on school-based health services. This national policy brief primarily addresses the opportunities to expand on health services delivered within a school by school nurses and other district-employed providers (school psychologists, social workers, counselors, occupational therapists, physical therapists and speech-language pathologists), using the "free care" policy clarification issued by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

This Healthy Students Promising Futures Learning Collaborative case study highlights Michigan's work to leverage the reversal of free care policy to expand the state's school-based Medicaid program.

As of October 2019, school districts in Michigan are able to seek Medicaid reimbursement for services provided to all Medicaid-enrolled students (not only for health services included in a student's Individualized Education Program). This change presents an important opportunity to expand access to and resources for school health services, particularly behavioral health services.