School districts across the state are facing financial challenges for the upcoming school year, and now Texas schools are confronted with a combined over $300 million loss in Medicaid reimbursements for the 2024-2025 school year.
The Texas Health and Human Services (HHS) Commission notified districts in mid-December that it had lost its appeal of an audit conducted by the federal Office of Inspector General on its School Health and Related Services (SHARS) program.
SHARS is a program administered by HHS that allows individual school districts to request federal reimbursement for Medicaid-related special needs health services.
Services eligible under this program include things like physical therapy, nursing services, occupational therapy, behavioral therapy, and special education-related services.