Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google


Tennessee Reimburses Schools for Telepractice Services

  • By Staff
  • 05/23/17

Tennessee is one of the many states facing a shortage of qualified clinicians at schools, but recently amended legislation seeks to open the door for schools to use online therapy services.

According to a news release, the Tennessee General Assembly passed an amendment to Senate Bill 195, which makes elementary and secondary schools eligible to be reimbursed for telepractice services, such as online speech-language therapy, occupational therapy, as well as behavioral and mental health services.

The state in 2014 started providing Medicaid reimbursement for telepractice services, but only managed care organizations and school-based health clinics were ensured. Now, Tennessee elementary and secondary schools are considered qualified sites to collect Medicaid.

“Telepractice makes it possible for districts, regardless of their onsite therapist situation, to provide students with consistent, high-quality therapy services,” said Clay Whitehead, co-founder and co-CEO of online clinical services provider PresenceLearning, in the statement. PresenceLearning offers a telehealth network of live, online special education and related service providers, which Tennessee schools can now receive funding to use.

Featured

  • digital lock

    CoSN: Cybersecurity and Data Privacy Remain Top AI Concerns in Education

    A leading concern for education technology leaders across the United States is the potential for AI to enable new forms of cyber attacks, according to the latest State of Ed Tech report from CoSN.

  • lock symbol with quantum bits in dynamic motion

    Microsoft Accelerates Quantum-Safe Security Timeline

    Microsoft is speeding up its quantum-safe security timeline, noting that advances in quantum computing and new federal requirements have pushed post-quantum cryptography from a future planning issue into an immediate engineering priority.

  • large cloud icon on the right in an abstract world above a polygon with a dark blue background

    Cloud Security Alliance Expands Agentic AI Governance Work

    The Cloud Security Alliance (CSA) has announced a series of CSAI Foundation milestones aimed at securing what it calls the agentic control plane, including a new catastrophic risk initiative, CVE Numbering Authority authorization, and the acquisition of two agentic AI specifications.

  • abstract smartphone translucent screen displaying AI interface

    Apple Unveils Redesigned Siri AI

    At its recent Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple announced Siri AI, a redesigned version of its voice assistant that Apple describes in its own announcement as "a profoundly more capable and personal assistant." The update is intended to make Siri more conversational, more context-aware, and more useful across iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and Vision Pro.