Transition from DOSES to DCERT Memo
July 2013
SPECIAL EDUCATION FIELD ADVISORY
| From: | James P. DeLorenzo Commissioner, Office of Special Education Harold Matott Director, STAC, Special Aids and Medicaid |
|---|---|
| Subject: |
State Reimbursement for Placement of Students with Disabilities in Approved Private School In-State and Out-of-State Day and Residential School Placements  |
The purpose of this memorandum is to provide information on a revised “private placement certification” process to be used by school districts to meet their reporting requirements pursuant to section 200.6(j) of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education whenever the district is seeking approval for State reimbursement of tuition costs for placement of a student with a disability in an approved in-State or out-of-State day or residential school program. Previously, school districts completed a “DOSES” record for preapproval for this purpose.
The revised preapproval process, utilizing the Private Placement Certification Screen (DCERT), can be found on the STAC Online System (http://www.oms.nysed.gov/stac/). This process to obtain State approval for reimbursement of tuition costs must, consistent with section 200.6(j)(3) of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education, be completed annually for each student placed in an approved private day or residential school.
The process has been streamlined from the previous “DOSES” form to now require only certification of certain information from school personnel. However, school personnel must maintain documentation to support their certification statements and this information is subject to verification by the New York State Education Department (NYSED) at their request. This revised process is intended to provide administrative relief for school personnel while still meeting the State’s requirements to ensure that the placement of students with disabilities in approved private schools are in the least restrictive environment and that school personnel have met their requirement pursuant to section 200.4(d)(4) of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education when a student is first determined to be at risk of a residential placement.
In order to obtain a timely determination of approval of State reimbursement, the preapproval Certification must have a “Certification Date” stamp not later than six business days of the student’s start date in the program. If the school district fails to submit a timely application, State reimbursement will commence on the “Certification Date” as determined by NYSED’s STAC Online System. NYSED will no longer back date approvals so it is imperative that school districts ensure that the certification forms for each student are processed in a timely manner.
Please note that school districts must continue to submit their Out-of-State packets along with their paper STAC 1 applications for approval of State reimbursement for the placement of students in approved out-of-State residential schools.
To ensure dissemination to appropriate individuals within a school district, I ask Superintendents to please share this memorandum with individuals such as Directors of Special Education, School Psychologists, Committee on Special Education and Committee on Preschool Special Education Chairpersons, Guidance Counselors and Directors of Pupil Personnel and Parent Teacher Associations.
Questions regarding this memorandum may be directed to the STAC, Special Aids and Medicaid Unit at (518) 474-7116.