MH-SPED
MH-SPED
In May, 2023 Minnesota legislature passed a new law making it easier for districts to seek reimbursement for IEP-based mental health services provided by Mental Health Professionals. This was a major victory for mental health services in schools.
In October 2024, the new policy (MH in SpEd) went into effect
Now the IEP and Evaluation can be used to document medical necessity (just like the other health-related services). Medical necessity is required when seeking reimbursement from Medical Assistance (MA).
Below are the changes to the IEP that must be made in order to be in compliance with the new MH-SPED Policy.
We have additional resources for determining Medical Necessity on the Third Party Billing Website.
_1783524578.png)
Who provides services?
Mental Health Professionals = TEA-Based MHPs, Licensed School Social Workers, Clinical Trainees
Mental Health Practitioners = School Counselors, School Psychologists
When does this happen?
The addition of MH-Sped services, in the form of Psycho-education or Psycho-therapy, is similar to any other related service being added to the IEP (think of adding OT or Speech services). When there is an identified need in the educational evaluation, we can use these services to better serve the student.
As this process is new (to us and district statewide), you may have students (or have new intakes) who already receive a variation of direct or indirect SEL or Social Work minutes. Through the Summary and Recommendation (S&R) process, the Mental Health Professional can determine how and if those needs are best met through school-based mental health services.
They do this in several ways:
When there is a new student/post intake, the mental health professional has 10 school days to complete the S&R and make recommendations.
During a 3-year re-evaluation, the S&R is added to the evaluation PWN as a task completed by the mental health professional. The S&R is completed along the same timeline as the evaluation.
Ahead of an annual IEP, students who already receive mental health services or could benefit from them should be brought to the attention of the mental health provider and lead teacher for consideration of adding mental health services.
*The IEP, along with the S&R, should be updated if the student’s functioning has markedly changed, the diagnosis has changed, service needs have changed, or if it is requested by the student/family (this is the same for all IEP services)
Changes on the IEP
-
There needs to be a present levels statement addressing the needs identified in the Evaluation that have informed the Summary and Recommendations document completed by the Mental Health Professional.
There must be a statement about who is addressing the specific goal:
-
This goal is being addressed by the mental health professional.
-
This goal is being addressed by the mental health practitioner with supervision and consultation with the mental health professional.
The targeted areas of concern or diagnosis with baseline measurements based on clinical determination of need should be in the goal-specific PLAAFP.
ex. Over the past year, STUDENT has been working on increasing their self-regulation skills by identifying their emotions and using coping strategies. STUDENT is currently demonstrating these skills 65% of the time (goal 70%). The team agreed to continue with this goal as these are skills STUDENT needs to continue to work on in order achieve their overall goal of… (what is the student working on? Emotional regulation to gain employment, transition to the general education setting, etc.)
See Present Levels (PLAAFP) for more information about writing PLAAFPs.
-
-
Mental Health-related goals or objectives are written by or in collaboration with the Mental Health Professional and must target the need that the mental health services are addressing.
Consider how you are writing the goal, often we may write goals from a lense of compliance. MH-Sped goals should be written for engagement, i.e., they are student-based, support learning and practicing new skills, and create and foster intrinsic motivation. This approach looks at addressing the root cause.
ex. Shift from compliance-based goals to engagement-based goals
Compliance: Student will increase their self-control to remain in class when upset from currently doing so in 50% of opportunities to doing so in 75% of opportunities with a minimum level of staff assistance by the next annual IEP.
Engagement: Student will increase their ability to manage their anxiety by engaging in self-regulation skills (deep breathing and grounding exercises) when overwhelmed or upset from 50% of opportunities to 75% of opportunities by the next Annual IEP.
MH-SPED IEP goals must still be written in the SMARTIE format. For more information on writing IEP goals, see the Goals and Objectives page.
-
Mental Health services are reflected in the service grid as either psychoeducation or psychotherapy
Psychoeducation is provided by Mental Health Practitioners
Psychotherapy is provided by a Mental Health Professional or a Clinical trainee
Make sure you and the case manager are on the same page about services being provided, how much, and how often.
-
Under accommodations, there are statements for several services that can now be billed for under MH Billing:
Family Therapy
Psychotherapy for Crisis
Clinical Care Consultation
Collaborating with the Mental Health Professional
The MHP has responsibilities for
-
Determining medical necessity of services (Summary & Recommendations)
-
Reviewing the IEP or IFSP (as a treatment plan)
-
Supporting and IEP Goal or Objective
-
Communicating and engaging with caregivers
-
Maintaining required documentation of all interactions and services (progress notes)
-
Working with other service providers internally and externally
-
Tracking all services related to Mental Health being delivered within the IEP/IFSP
Writing MH Related Goals
MH-Sped services are intended to support the needs of a student who has the necessary mental health supports determined in the evaluation. These needs are addressed in a goal or objective that is written by or with the MHP.
Remember, the IEP goal is meant to address the root cause of the behaviors or needs we observe and note in the evaluation.
IEP goals should be formatted as follows:
_1783524578.png)
See Goals and Objectives for more information.
_1783524578.png)
Once the IEP is finalized and sent to the parent/guardian, notify your mental health professional so they may sign the treatment plan (IEP).
The IEP (or IFSP) serves the the written treatment plan outlining a student’s mental health needs, goals, and interventions based on the assessment within the Summary and Recommendations (S&R)
The mental health professional (not practitioner) is responsible for ensuring how the information is collected and ensuring all required components are in the IEP.
-
Once the IEP is finalized and sent to the parent/guardian, notify your mental health professional so they may sign the treatment plan (IEP).
-
The IEP (or IFSP) serves the the written treatment plan outlining a student’s mental health needs, goals, and interventions based on the assessment within the Summary and Recommendations (S&R)
The mental health professional (not practitioner) is responsible for ensuring how the information is collected and ensuring all required components are in the IEP.
Prior Written Notice
-
The district is proposing to amend the student services to change the listed service “SEL Services” to (psychoeducation or psychotherapy).
-
The district is proposing the addition of psychotherapy services. The student will receive psychotherapy for (minutes) minutes per (frequency) by a Mental Health Professional.
-
The district is proposing the addition of psychoeducation services. The student will receive (psychoeducation for (minutes) minutes per (frequency) by a Mental Health Professional.
The district is proposing to amend goal #, addressing (topic of goal).
The district is proposing to amend the Present Levels of Academic Achievement and Functional Performance (PLAAFP) to reflect the current mental health needs of the student.
The district is proposing to add additional program modifications and supports for the following: (These should only be added if a Mental Health professional is in the building and it has been discussed at the IEP meeting):
- Family Therapy
- Psychotherapy for Crisis
-
Clinical Care Consultation
-
-
- The change from SEL services to (psychoeducation or psychotherapy) is made to better reflect the service provided by ISD 917 staff. This is a technical language change that will not affect the services the student receives and is made to describe the services already provided more accurately.
- Mental Health services in the form of (psychoeducation or psychotherapy) are added to address the student’s needs in the areas of (give example of need from the eval).
- The change to goal # is to align with the mental health services provided with consultation from a Mental Health Professional.
- The changes reflected in the PLAAFP statement are evidenced by the current Educational Evaluation (date) or Summary and Performance (date) documents.
- Changes to modifications and supports are for:
- Family Therapy Statement - to coordinate Mental Health Professional Support for Family Therapy at a schedule agreed upon by the team.
- Psychotherapy for Crisis - When CHLD is experiencing crisis behaviors (detail what that looks like for CHLD) and showing that they would benefit from psychotherapy from a Mental Health Professional in the moment of the crisis, to ensure CHLD’s safety and facilitate de-escalation.
- Clinical Care Consultation - To support coordination of mental health services for CHLD, and to align therapeutic interventions across settings.
-
The student's current Education Evaluation (dated), the student’s IEP (dated), and the Summary and Recommendations document (dated).
-
The district considered [WHAT ELSE WAS DISCUSSED AT THE MEETING THAT DID NOT END UP HAPPENING ON THE IEP]. This [TOPIC] was decided against because [DETAILED TEAM REASONING].
-
The district determined there are no other factors to be considered at this time.
OR
Detail other Additional factors
-
Coming Soon