I am absolutely against the bill to expand Medicaid services in schools through mandatory statewide contracts for billing platforms, surveys, and analyses. Here's why: Privacy Risks: Centralizing student health data could lead to breaches, violating privacy rights as emphasized in Owasso Independent School District v. Falvo (2002). Bureaucratic Overreach: It infringes on local school autonomy, contrary to Milliken v. Bradley (1974), which supported local educational governance. Administrative Burden: Implementing this system will increase administrative tasks, potentially affecting educational quality, similar to concerns in San Antonio Independent School District v. Rodriguez (1973). Stigma and Misuse: It might prioritize reimbursable services over others, creating stigma and inequity, echoing issues in Brown v. Board of Education (1954). Service Inequity: Focusing on billing barriers might not address underlying issues, potentially widening educational disparities. Health vs. Education: The bill blurs the line between education and health, possibly diluting the educational mission. Rushed Analysis: Mandatory reporting could lead to superficial analyses, missing local nuances. I strongly oppose this bill for its potential to compromise privacy, local control, and educational focus, urging its rejection.

Voices for Virginia's Children support this bill. We are committed to ensuring that school divisions are able to access Medicaid reimbursement for the services they provide to students. This bill takes a look at current barriers to leveraging those dollars and ensures that solutions are considered so all our students will be able to access critical services that may be currently inaccessible due to limited reimbursement.

The Coalition of Small and Rural Schools of Virginia strongly support this bill. Due to having small staffs in our central offices, we lack the capacity to complete all necessary paperwork to be fully reimbursed for the eligible services we provide.