Private Excess Cost

Under Section 4405 of NY State Education Law, the CSE responsible district may file a Request for Reimbursement Approval for school-age special education students placed in day or residential programs at SED-approved private schools.

Private Placement Certification

Prior to requesting reimbursement, school districts must provide “Assurance of Required Certifications for 10-Month Private School Reimbursement.” This process must be completed annually on the DCERT screen within the STAC Online (EFRT) System. for each in-state and out-of-state school age student in an approved 10-month private day or private residential school, including Special Act School Districts.

DCERT records are only required for 10-month school age private placements. A new DCERT record is required when the following placement changes occur:

  • A change in CSE district
  • A change from a day to residential placement
  • A change from a residential to day placement
  • A change from preschool to school age
  • A change from in-state to out-of-state
  • A change from out-of-state to in-state

Private Excess Cost Aid will not be paid for a 10-month school age private placement until a DCERT record is submitted through the STAC Online (EFRT) System.

For more information, please review the following:

  • User's Guide to DCERT processing (HTML) (PDF)

Request for Reimbursement Approval

First Step: Private Excess Cost -- In-State

After the DCERT has been added, school districts need to submit a request for STAC reimbursement approval online.

For students continuing in the same placement, where the record for the concluding school year was entered prior to April 1, the student's placement can be reapplied for the new school year by the CSE district on the DRPRV screen.

For more information, please review the following:

  • Reapplication Instructions for Private 10-Month Placements (HTML) (PDF)

For students changing placements or starting in a new placement, the request for STAC reimbursement approval must be manually entered by the CSE district on the DSPRV screen.

For more information, please review the following:

  • Guide to Requesting Private Excess Cost (10-Month) Reimbursement Approvals (PDF)

First Step: Private Excess Cost -- Out-of-State

Out-of-State Placements require the submission of an out-of-state packet each year.
The P-12 Office of Special Education Nondistrict Unit requests that the Out-of-State Tuition Reimbursement Approval applications be submitted, along with separate School Age STAC-1 forms for 2-month and 10-month, to OOSAPP@nysed.gov.

The latest application is always available on the P-12 Office of Special Education website:

The STAC and Medicaid Unit will enter the out-of-state records on the STAC Online (EFRT) System once it has confirmed that the placement has been approved by the Nondistrict Unit (NDU).

Second Step: Online Verification -- Both In-State and Out-of-State

In order to receive reimbursement, all 10-month placements at SED-approved private providers must be verified by the CSE district on the DVPRV screen.

In order to receive current year funding, the placements must be verified by June 30 of the school year following the school year of enrollment.

After the current year payments have been made, verification reopens for prior year claims. Verification closes for good two years after the end of the school year of enrollment.

For more information:

  • Private On-Line Verification Overview (PDF)

Fiscal Responsibility

Private Excess Cost 10-Month Education

  • The District of Residence pays the tuition, Dormitory Authority fees (if applicable), and the aide/nurse/interpreter cost (if applicable) in the first instance. All three costs are calculated based on rates are set by the New York State Education Department's Rate Setting Unit.
  • The State will provide partial reimbursement for the education costs based on the State Aid formula outlined below.

Private Excess Cost 10-Month Maintenance

  • For residential placements, the County of Residence pays maintenance (room and board) costs directly to the SED-approved education provider.
  • Part N of Chapter 56 of the Laws of 2020 amended section 153 of the Social Services Law and repealed a portion of Section 4405 of the Education Law to better align fiscal responsibilities with the entity that makes placement decisions. As a result, the CSE district is now billed back by the local county for 56.848 percent of the maintenance costs. There is no State reimbursement for 10-month maintenance costs.

State Aid formula used to calculate Private Excess Cost Aid

(Example: Student in a program with an $80,000 rate who was enrolled for part of the 2019-20 enrollment year with a 0.600 FTE)

  $80,000 10-Mo. Rate ($48,000 Billed / 0.600 FTE Enrollment)  
- $13,000 School District Basic Contribution * (2020-21 PRI Line 5)
  $67,000 Annualized Excess Aidable Cost  
× 0.600 Student FTE  
  $49,200 Aidable Excess Cost  
× 0.850 Private Excess Cost Aid Ratio (2020-21 PRI Line 8)
  $37,170 Private Excess Cost Aid  

Out-of-State Tuition Reimbursement Approval

Please submit Out-of-State Tuition Reimbursement Approval applications to: OOSAPP@NYSED.GOV

Correspondence

  • EFH277 Student Listings for 1920 Verified Approvals Memo (HTML) (PDF)
  • EFH277 Student Listings for 1920 Approvals Memo (HTML) (PDF)
  • OCFS Administrative Directive
    20-OCFS-ADM-13 - Committee on Special Education Maintenance Reimbursement (Word) (PDF)
  • Change to DCERT screen for 2019-20 (HTML) (PDF)
Last Updated: October 27, 2023