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Duval County Public Schools Chooses ENCORE! to Manage IEPs

Posted on: Wednesday, 10 August 2005, 09:00 CDT

Duval County Public Schools (DCPS) in Jacksonville, Fla. has chosen 4GL School Solutions Inc. (4GL) to provide a comprehensive, Web-based solution for managing its Exceptional Student Education (ESE) programs. One of the nation's largest public school districts, serving nearly 130,000 students across 160 schools, Duval County will be the first Florida school district to implement 4GL's ENCORE!(TM) suite of software and service solutions for special populations.

DCPS will install 4GL's ENCORE!(TM) Special Education and ENCORE!(TM) Claims Tracker(TM) solutions. ENCORE! will help the district automate and streamline data collection and management, and manage individualized education plans (IEP) for more than 24,000 students participating in ESE programs. With the Web-based system, the district aims to improve data-driven decision making in the provision of appropriate education and related services; simplify administrative processes; improve compliance with applicable laws and policies; and maximize revenue reimbursement.

"We used a cross-functional team to assess our needs in a number of areas. Our priority needs included the creation, storage, updating and archiving of IEPs, and the handling of Medicaid claiming," said Walter Carter, treasurer for Duval County Public Schools. "We reviewed products from a number of well-qualified firms. 4GL's combination of product attributes and market leadership is what made the difference for us."

Dr. Diane Gillespie, general director for Exceptional Student Education, said, "Our goals with the ENCORE! system are to improve our service to students and their parents; to reduce the administrative time requirements on ESE teachers and providers of related services; to provide accountability and tracking of service delivery; and to develop Medicaid claiming to enable the program to be self-funding in three years."

Designed specifically for the K-12 education market, ENCORE! helps school districts increase the effectiveness of their programs for special populations by automating time-consuming data collection and reporting processes, and reducing the paperwork burden. The comprehensive, Web-based software solution serves as a foundation for managing all phases of the identification process and IEP development process for school districts. As data is entered, compliance requirements are automatically verified, ensuring that paperwork is completed accurately and on time. As a result, educators can spend more time in the classroom, focusing on improving student learning and achievement.

An add-on module for the ENCORE! suite, Claims Tracker allows districts to perform Medicaid billing internally to maximize revenue recovery. Claims Tracker optimizes a district's Medicaid recovery by converting encounter data from ENCORE! into electronic claims that can be automatically transmitted to processing agencies for reimbursement. In addition, Claims Tracker enables districts to use state Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) record formats to automatically maintain student Medicaid eligibility information, prepare and submit Medicaid reimbursement claims, and process claims remittance advice.

About Duval County Public Schools

Duval County's public school district consists of more than 160 schools throughout the Jacksonville metropolitan area. The district, which is divided into five geographical regions, includes 105 elementary schools, 27 middle schools, and 19 high schools. In addition, there are five alternative schools and three exceptional education schools. As one of the nation's largest public school districts, Duval County serves nearly 130,000 students.

About 4GL School Solutions

4GL School Solutions Inc. is the leading provider of comprehensive management solutions for special populations. Building upon its deep expertise in special education, 4GL helps school districts more effectively manage the individualized learning process for all students receiving special services or interventions, including special education, at-risk, Section 504 and Limited English Proficient (LEP) students.

4GL works collaboratively with districts of all sizes to deliver scalable, easy-to-use software solutions that lift the immense burden of paperwork from education professionals so they can focus on the most important part of their work: educating children and improving student achievement. Focused solely on K-12 education, 4GL's proven, data-driven solutions help districts reduce paperwork, increase efficiency, improve staff morale and retention, increase revenue recovery, eliminate compliance issues, reduce unnecessary referrals to special education, and support successful achievement of individualized education plan (IEP) goals.

Founded in 1996, 4GL School Solutions is based in Towson, Md. For more information, visit http://www.4glschools.com or call 1-800-490-84GL (8445).

Source: Business Wire

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