§ 122C-451.  Eligibility and allocations.

(a) A child who is receiving psychiatric and other behavioral health services in a PRTF shall also receive educational services in accordance with federal and State law, if the child is eligible to enroll in public schools as provided in G.S. 115C-366, including a student who has been suspended or expelled but otherwise meets the requirements of that statute. For a child with a disability, as defined in G.S. 115C-106.3(1), who has been placed in a PRTF, all educational services shall meet applicable standards as required under Article 9 of Chapter 115C of the General Statutes.

(b) A PRTF shall be qualified to receive a funding allocation, to the extent that funds are available from the Department of Health and Human Services, to provide educational services if the following conditions are met:

(1) The PRTF is licensed by the Department of Health and Human Services pursuant to Chapter 122C of the General Statutes and has a facility-based school approved by the Department of Public Instruction as a Nonpublic Exceptional Children's Program.

(2) The PRTF documents deviations from educational and other programmatic requirements when it is medically necessary for a resident in accordance with G.S. 122C-62(e).

(c) A PRTF that meets the qualification standards required in subsection (b) of this section may enter into an educational services contract, to the extent that funds are available, with a local school administrative unit to assist in the delivery of educational services to the children in the PRTF. The contract shall clearly define the education-related assessment, instruction, and legal responsibilities of both parties engaging in the educational services contract. A PRTF entering into an educational services contract with a local school administrative unit shall submit the educational services contract to both the Department of Public Instruction and the Department of Health and Human Services for inclusion in any required reports to the General Assembly regarding the provision of educational services to children in PRTFs.

(d) To the extent that funds are available in the Department of Public Instruction for the delivery of educational services in PRTFs as provided in this Part, those funds shall be transferred to the Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities, and Substance Use Services (DMH/DD/SUS). The funds transferred for the purchase of educational services within the PRTF shall not be allocated to LME/MCOs but shall be held in reserve at the DMH/DD/SUS. The DMH/DD/SUS shall use the reserve funds to pay for educational services authorized by the Department of Public Instruction and billed by the PRTFs in a process established by the DMH/DD/SUS. The funds transferred to the DMH/DD/SUS pursuant to this section shall be allocated to the PRTFs for educational services in a manner determined by the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Public Instruction in a Memorandum of Understanding or a Memorandum of Agreement. The Department of Health and Human Services shall disburse for these purposes only those funds transferred from the Department of Public Instruction.

(e) The Department of Health and Human Services shall cease disbursement of educational funding to a PRTF upon receipt of a written notice from the Department of Public Instruction that educational services have not been provided. Educational funding disbursement shall be reinstated by the Department of Health and Human Services upon written notice from the Department of Public Instruction that the PRTF is providing educational services.

(f) A PRTF that receives educational funding shall comply with all audit and accounting policies applicable to other public and private entities receiving public funding. (2014-100, s. 8.39(e); 2023-65, s. 5.2(b), (c).)