The child lives in and requires an education program from the residential treatment facility. In this case, the responsible school district may contract with the residential treatment facility on an individual basis for students who are exceptional and require special education. The Department of Education does not have the authority to require a school district to purchase an educational program. However, a district which declines to participate in the educational costs of a residential treatment program may otherwise be faced with the higher costs of an APS residential placement, if no appropriate alternative can be arranged. Thus, school districts have an incentive to cooperate with mental health agencies that are prepared to pay the non-educational costs of placement.
School districts are likely to be most open to cooperation if they are approached early.
Therefore, it is in our interests, as well as being in the interests of the young people we serve, for us to involve school districts at the earliest possible time when residential treatment is being recommended. Please make sure that case managers, intensive care managers, and mental health providers understand the importance of working with the appropriate school district at the beginning of developing a treatment plan, so that the education issues are successfully resolved.