Private Placement Certification
A User Guide for School Districts
STAC ONLINE SYSTEM (EFRT) PRE-APPROVAL
This guidance supersedes all previously published DCERT guidance
I. Overview
The DCERT screen is used by school district personnel to submit information to SED for providing “Assurance of Required Certifications for 10-Month Private School Reimbursement.” This process must be completed annually 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. All information submitted is subject to verification by the New York State Education Department. Documentation supporting certifications made on this screen must be maintained at the school district and available upon request.
DCERT records are only required for 10-month school age private placements. All 10-month private placement certification records (DCERT) should be submitted in accordance with the timeframes outlined in section 200.6(j)(3) of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education. 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 system. Full reimbursement for private placements will be paid as long as DCERT and STAC verification records are on file within the statute of limitations pursuant to NYSEL § 3604:
- June 30th of the school year following the service year, for aid to be paid on a current basis;
- June 30th of the school year two years after the service year for aid to be paid from the prior year queue as funds become available.
Please note that school districts must continue to submit out-of-state packets along with paper STAC-1 forms for approval of State reimbursement for the placement of students in approved out-of-state residential schools.
Private placement certification is required for the following four types of private 10-month placements:
- Day In-State
- Day Out-of-State
- Residential In-State
- Residential Out-of-State
In addition to the annual certification, 10-month private placement certification is required in the following instances:
- Change from day to residential or residential to day placement
- Change from in-state to out-of-state or out-of-state to in-state placement
- Change in Committee on Special Education (CSE) school district
- Change from preschool to school age
II. Submitting a 10-Month Private Placement Certification
- Log in to the STAC Online (EFRT) System: https://efrt.nysed.gov/efrt/.
- From the DMNUM “Special Education Main Menu”, select the DCERT option.
- You will be advanced to the DCERT “Private Placement Certification” online screen. Enter the student’s STAC ID, the first three letters of the student’s last name, and select the appropriate school year. The CSE District will default to your school district’s 12-digit SED (BEDS) Code.
- Click Inquire.
The student’s full name and date of birth will be displayed for you to verify that you have selected the correct student. If there is no certification already on file for the student for the selected school year, the Mode will change from Inquiry to ADD.
- Select the appropriate Placement Type from the Placement Type dropdown: Day/In-State, Day/Out-of-State, Res/In-State, or Res/Out-of-State. Then click Inquire again.
- Enter the CSE Meeting Date in MM/DD/YY format.
- Based on the selected placement type, read and certify the appropriate certification statements.
- Once you have read and certified all required certifications, click ADD to create a new certification.
III. Example of a Completed Certification (DCERT) for a Residential/In-State Placement
IV. When a Student’s Placement Type Changes
The STAC online system only recognizes the most recent certification on file for a specific student. If the student changes to a different placement type, simply add an additional DCERT.
To add an additional DCERT for a different placement type:
- Go to the online screen named DCERT (Private Placement Certification). Enter the STAC ID, the first 3 letters of the student’s last name and select the appropriate school year. The CSE district will default to your district’s 12-digit BEDS code.
- Click Inquire.
- The most recent certification for the selected year will be displayed, showing all of the certifications associated with that placement type.
- Select the new placement type from the dropdown.
- Click Inquire.
- The screen will be cleared of all previous certifications and will now be in the ADD mode.
- Based on the selected placement type, read and certify the appropriate certification statements.
- Once you have read and certified all required certifications, click ADD to create a new certification approval.
V. Retrieving a full listing of your school district’s Private Placement Certifications for a school year
- Go to DQCER screen (Private Placement Certification List).
- Select School Year.
- Click on Inquire.
- All certifications will be displayed first in alphabetical order, by student’s last name; followed by chronological order if a student has more than one certification on file for your district. When adding STAC approval record, please note that the STAC Online system only recognizes the most recent certification on file for a specific student.
VI. Reminders for Successful Processing of STAC DCERTs and Ten-Month Private Approvals
- Timeliness: Remember to submit DCERTs in a timely manner. The certification must be processed on EFRT prior to adding a ten-month private approval record.
- Processing Order for DCERTs and STAC Ten-Month Private Approvals:
EFRT only recognizes the most recent certification on file for a specific student. Prior to entering a second DCERT for a student, due to a change in placement type, it is necessary to have added the STAC service approval which corresponds to the first DCERT on file. For example, when a student changes from a day placement to a residential placement, the day service approval record must be added or amended prior to adding the residential certification and residential STAC service approval. - Confirmation of Successful Certification: Please use the DQCER screen to verify that a certification has been successfully submitted on EFRT. The new DCERT should be listed on the DQCER screen. If you have any questions, please contact the STAC and Medicaid Unit at OMSSSTAC@nysed.gov.