The email arrives on a Tuesday. It names a date and a time from yesterday, 10:14 a.m. The clinician scrolls back through the log and finds nothing at that time. Where was she?
In a state that uses a random moment time study, this email is a normal part of the school year. The study has nothing to do with how well you work. It decides how much of your time can be counted when the district asks Medicaid for reimbursement. A vague answer does not protect you. It just makes the sample less useful, and it can lead to follow-up questions.
What the study is for
CMS describes a time study as something that reflects how a local education agency's employees' time is distributed across a range of activities. For cost allocation methods, it is used to work out what share of direct services and administrative costs is reimbursable under Medicaid. CMS says that the documentation a district keeps for an RMTS is set out by the state Medicaid agency in its methodology and instructions, and that the documentation of direct services and administrative activities must clearly show that the activities directly benefit the Medicaid program.
CMS also lists an advantage of the approach. An RMTS only requires a small sample of moments of work to be recorded, rather than the full day of work that a worker day log would require.
So the sample is small, and each answer counts. That is why the detail matters.
What a participant is asked to do
Connecticut's quick reference guide, run through its school-based claiming program, gives a clear picture of the steps. Other states use their own systems and wording, so treat this as one example.
| Step | What it says |
|---|---|
| Notification | You get an email with the date and time of the moment you are to document |
| Four questions | What type of activity were you doing, what were you doing, who were you working or interacting with (without actual names), and why were you doing it |
| Narrative | A short description of your work in your own words |
| Choosing answers | Pick from the lists. Use "Other activities not listed" only if the options do not describe your activity well enough |
| Deadline | Complete and certify within 2 school days of the assigned date and time |
| Follow-up | You may be asked more questions, and you should answer them |
Tips from the guide
- One minute only. The study corresponds to a single minute. What you did before or after matters only when it gives needed context.
- Write it down when you see the email. If you cannot answer right away, jotting down what you were doing at the assigned time can help.
- Write for someone who was not there. Review your answers to be sure the context would be clear to a stranger.
- Skip acronyms, or spell them out.
- Give topic, context, purpose, and content. The guide says a sufficient response has adequate detail on these.
- If you were communicating, describe the topic of the conversation and the context, whether it was in person, by email, or by phone.
Strong and weak answers
The guide gives its own examples. Here are some invented ones that follow the same idea.
| Vague | Detailed |
|---|---|
| "Working with a student" | "Individual speech therapy session with a second grader on past-tense verbs, as written in the student's IEP" |
| "On the phone" | "Calling a parent to explain a progress report on a language goal" |
| "In my car" | "Driving between two schools to deliver scheduled IEP services" |
| "Prep time" | "Preparing picture cards for an IEP-based articulation group" |
| "Paperwork" | "Writing a session note for a student seen earlier today" |
If the real answer is less exciting, such as "eating lunch," say so. The study is only useful if the answers are accurate.
Special cases
Connecticut's guide addresses a few that come up often:
- Not working. If you were sick, on vacation, on leave, or off for a snow day, that is a valid answer. The guide asks only whether you were using paid time off.
- A cancelled session. Answer with what you were actually doing, not what you would have been doing.
- No time to answer now. Do not wait until the deadline is close to ask for help. The guide urges participants to contact the support line as soon as possible.
Keep students out of the answer
A time study answer describes your work, not a student. FERPA's definition of personally identifiable information goes beyond a name: it includes things like a student number and other details that could identify a student. Connecticut's guide tells participants not to use actual names and not to include identifying information that is not necessary. "A second grader" does the job. "The second grader in Room 6 who is new this month" does not.
What the study is not
It is not a performance review, and your answer is not a promise that you will do the same thing at the same time next week. It is also not a place to explain or defend your schedule. If something was unusual that day, a plain sentence of context is enough. If you are unsure which answer fits, ask the support line named in your state's training before the deadline. A short call is better than a wrong answer that comes back as a list of follow-up questions.
How your notes and log help
Your service log and session notes are the best memory aid you have. If you have been recording start and end times as described in start and end times in session notes, a moment from yesterday is easy to find. If you have not, you will be reconstructing from memory, and that is where vague answers come from.
The study is separate from billing individual sessions. For what a claim needs, read school Medicaid documentation basics. For the parental consent behind billing, read parent consent for school Medicaid billing.
Questions for your supervisor
- Does our district take part in a time study, and which one?
- Who sends the notices, and what is the deadline for answers?
- Is there a state training I should complete?
- Who do I contact with questions about how to answer?
- How do I handle the moment if I am out of the building or on leave?
Terms are in the glossary.