Summary

Federal and state law require individuals with disabilities be provided with a free appropriate public education. Because students with disabilities may be receiving services in multiple settings that are covered by multiple funding streams, the potential exists for duplication of services. However, the Program Evaluation Division found there is minimal evidence of duplication of Medicaid-covered services across school and community settings. PED found that North Carolina complies with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and effectively provides services to students with disabilities. PED also found that the Department of Public Instruction’s (DPI’s) Exceptional Children Division provides technical assistance to LEAs yet does not systematically measure the effectiveness of these efforts. Lastly, PED found that North Carolina’s new health information exchange, NC HealthConnex, could improve service delivery coordination, but failure to meet the statutory connectivity deadline could negatively impact LEA funding. The General Assembly should direct DPI to establish methods for soliciting feedback from LEAs' Exceptional Children Directors and direct the Department of Information Technology to determine the feasibility of and fiscal impact on LEAs in meeting mandatory NC HealthConnex connectivity requirements.

Final Report

Executive Summary

Mandatory Evaluation Components

Recommendations