Court Ordered Placements (formerly Chapter 402)

• Court Ordered Placement Procedures Manual

To review the most recent memorandum regarding COP, please click here and search under the appropriate fiscal year Memorandums | Department of Education (nh.gov)

Below is an outline of the Court Ordered Placement process and helpful information on each area.

• School Districts are responsible for entering all court-ordered students' program data into NHSEIS as it occurs. Students court-ordered to foster homes or group homes who are attending public schools are not eligible for COP. To record costs for COP, go to the Student Information page of the EASYIEP process wizard and enter the court date and the start date. This should be done prior to entering invoices.
• Districts must submit a copy of the court order(s) that cover the school year.
• Districts should enter the invoices as they are received from the private providers. Invoices should be entered before submitting any paperwork to the NHDOE Bureau of Student Support.
• The COP cap must include only special education and special education related services costs for the student during the fiscal year they are applying for (July 1st through June 30th).
• All invoices should be entered into NHSEIS as they come in, except for the following services:
  • costs of all evaluations and consultations. These services are not covered by COP but rather the school district;
  • expenses incurred at YDC after the district has met cap-the District should contact YDC to stop billing.
• The District cannot enter any costs until a finalized IEP has been entered into NHSEIS.
• After reaching the COP cap, the school district should send any remaining special education and/or special education related services invoices for that student to the Bureau of Student Support, Court Ordered Placement, for payment by the State, after having entered the invoice into NHSEIS.
• All invoices used to meet cap must be submitted for verification of allowable costs.
• Please make sure all services have been completed before the invoices are forwarded to the Bureau of Student Support for payment.
• If the school district pays a portion of an invoice to reach the cap for a student, please make sure that a copy of that invoice is forwarded to the State and the invoice is clearly marked indicating the amount the LEA paid and the amount the State is responsible for paying.
• An Attendance Verification Form no longer needs to be submitted as the District is verifying attendance by checking the "Attendance Certified" box when entering the invoices in NHSEIS.
• A Cost Verification Form needs to be submitted.
• If the school district accidentally overpays the COP cap on a student, it is the district’s responsibility to contact the provider for reimbursement of that overpayment. Once the district has been refunded, the outstanding invoices can be forwarded to the Bureau of Student Support for payment. The invoices in NHSEIS should be adjusted to reflect what was ultimately paid, after receiving reimbursement for overpayment.
• Charges that exceed the approved rate or charges for over-delivery of services will not be used to calculate meeting the COP cap. The invoices section in NHSEIS will disallow any overcharging by the private provider.
• Schools and private providers should continue to send invoices to the school districts of liability, even after the district has reached cap for a given court-ordered student. The school district must verify that the billed services are accurate and enter the invoice into NHSEIS before forwarding it to the Bureau of Student Support, COP, for payment.
• If there is a change in a court-ordered student's placement, please make the change in the student's COP placement record and cost record in NHSEIS to accurately reflect the student's new placement information.
  • Please e-mail Brandy.A.Pappas@doe.nh.gov for assistance with this task. >School districts should keep files for each COP student. The file should contain the following information in case the LEA is audited:
    • Copies of invoices paid by the district to reach the COP cap.
    • Copies of invoices forwarded to the Bureau of Student Support for payment.
    • Copies of any court orders.

Contact

Cathleen Krammes
(603) 271-6056
Cathleen.M.Krammes@doe.nh.gov