The short version
- Aurora Public Schools and Cherry Creek both serve autistic students through the IEP. Placement runs from self-contained classrooms to general education, and the IEP team decides.
- Colorado law (HB22-1260, C.R.S. 22-20-121) required every district to adopt a policy for outside providers who deliver medically necessary treatment at school. APS posts its policy as JLCDC.
- Under the APS policy, your child's IEP or 504 team decides whether the treatment must happen at school. The ordering provider gets at least 10 calendar days' notice of that meeting.
- An outside ABA provider at school needs a signed written plan, a background check, insurance and parent consent. In APS, the family pays the outside provider.
- Parents are IEP team members and can invite people with knowledge of their child, such as a BCBA.
Autism programs in Aurora Public Schools and Cherry Creek both run through the Individualized Education Program, or IEP. The IEP sets your child’s goals, services and placement, and it is also the document that decides whether an outside ABA provider can work at school. This guide covers what each district says about its autism supports, how outside providers fit, and what you control as a parent.
How does Aurora Public Schools serve autistic students?
Aurora Public Schools (APS) says its Exceptional Student Services department works with schools and families to serve students with disabilities in the least restrictive environment. The department page lists general information, so the best look at an autism classroom comes from individual schools.
One example is Harmony Ridge P-8. Its Special Programs page describes a center placement for students diagnosed with autism. Students in that classroom get small-group academic, communication and social-emotional support. Speech and language or OT and PT supports are added when the IEP calls for them. They can join general education classes when appropriate to learn from peers.
Programs and locations change, so ask APS which school hosts an autism program for your child’s grade and address before you assume a placement.
How does Cherry Creek serve autistic students?
Cherry Creek’s special education page says its autism programs use a structured teaching approach and that the IEP directs the program. Long-term goals focus on functional skills, communication and independence. The district lists these skill domains: communication, social, academic, daily living, independence, sensory-motor and vocational.
It describes services across a range, from self-contained to full inclusion, based on each student’s needs. It also says intensive early intervention is a priority, with school staff and parents combining efforts to deliver more hours for preschool-age children.
The district also has an Autism and Severe Needs Support Team of district employees. The page says the team acts as an internal consultant to school special education teams. It handles intake, record review, a play-based assessment when autism is suspected, teaching plans tied to IEP goals and problem solving on difficult behavior or instruction.
Can an outside ABA provider work at school? What HB22-1260 requires
In 2022 the legislature passed HB22-1260, now C.R.S. 22-20-121. It says autism ABA is an example of a medically necessary service that sometimes needs to be delivered in school. By July 1, 2023, every school district had to adopt a policy on how a student with a prescription from a qualified provider gets medically necessary treatment at school.
The law requires the policy to do four things:
- Tell parents that Section 504 and the ADA give students rights to access medically necessary treatment.
- Describe how a private specialist may observe the student, work with school staff and provide treatment at school.
- Give notice of the right to appeal a district decision about access.
- Be posted on the district’s website and given to a parent on request.
Aurora Public Schools
APS lists the policy as JLCDC on its District Policies page. Key points, as the policy text reads:
- It defines a private health-care specialist to include Medicaid pediatric behavioral therapy providers and autism services providers.
- Your child’s IEP team or 504 team decides whether the treatment must be provided at school.
- The team invites the provider who ordered the treatment to the meeting, at least 10 calendar days ahead. The provider can send written input.
- The district may use its own qualified staff, or contract with a provider of its choice, for treatment the team says must happen at school.
- A specialist can be allowed in only to observe the student or to work with school staff, without giving treatment.
- If the team decides treatment is not required at school, it must give notice of a right to appeal. The appeal follows the 504 hearing procedures and does not apply to IDEA decisions.
The companion regulation, JLCDC-R, sets conditions for a provider on campus. These include signed parent consent, a written plan signed by the school administrator, parent and provider, a background check, evidence of Colorado licensing and liability insurance of $1 million per occurrence and $3 million aggregate with the district named as an additional insured. The parent pays the provider. The provider must give two weeks’ notice of visits outside the written plan, and the district can deny, reschedule or change a visit that interferes with school activities. The district does not control the content of treatment but may ask to review it ahead of time to coordinate.
Cherry Creek
Cherry Creek keeps its board policies on its Board of Education policy page. Look for the policy on medically necessary treatment in the school setting, or ask the district’s special education office to send it. State law gives you the right to that request. Read the conditions for outside providers before you sign anything.
What does Medicaid say about ABA at school?
HCPF’s PM 25-005 says Health First Colorado covers medically necessary pediatric behavioral therapy in a school setting. It no longer covers 40 hours a week of clinic services when a child has access to school hours, unless the district shows the child cannot be served in a classroom. EPSDT requests are still considered, but they need school documents such as an IEP showing the total hours of therapy the child gets in school.
APS also bills Medicaid for school health services. Its Medicaid page says a signed Medicaid Reimbursement Parental Consent must be on file before it can claim reimbursement. That is separate from the family’s own ABA authorization. For the family side, see our Health First Colorado ABA guide.
IEP basics every Aurora parent should know
- You are on the team. Federal rules list the child’s parents as IEP team members. Parents or the school can also invite other people with knowledge or special expertise about the child.
- You can ask for an evaluation. Either a parent or the school can start a request for an initial evaluation. Once you consent, the school has 60 days to complete it.
- You can challenge it. If you disagree with the school’s evaluation, you can ask for an independent evaluation at public expense. The school must consider a private evaluation you share if it meets its criteria.
- Behavior is part of the IEP. If behavior interferes with learning, the team must consider positive behavioral supports. The IEP gets reviewed at least once a year.
Bring your child’s ABA treatment plan summary or a BCBA letter to the meeting. A short, specific note on goals, supports that work and safety concerns gives the team something concrete to put in the IEP. If challenging behavior is the main school problem, see aggressive behavior at school in Aurora.
Where does school-based ABA fit?
School-based ABA works best when the clinic and the school share goals. Our school-based ABA service is built around that coordination, and social skills training can carry school goals into small-group practice. We accept all major insurance, including Medicaid, have no waitlist and start families within two weeks of approval. Contact us to talk through your child’s school plan.
Sources
- Aurora Public Schools, Exceptional Student Services
- Harmony Ridge P-8, Special Programs
- Aurora Public Schools, District Policies
- Aurora Public Schools, Policy JLCDC and regulation JLCDC-R
- Aurora Public Schools, Medicaid Services: About Our Program
- Cherry Creek Schools, Special Education (autism programming and Autism Team)
- Cherry Creek Schools, Board Policies
- Colorado General Assembly, HB22-1260 (enrolled act)
- HCPF Policy Memo PM 25-005, Pediatric Behavioral Therapy Policy Clarification
- 34 CFR 300.301, Initial evaluations
- 34 CFR 300.321, IEP Team
- 34 CFR 300.324, Development, review and revision of IEP
- 34 CFR 300.502, Independent educational evaluation