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:
Request for Reimbursement Approval
Step 1: Submit Private Excess Cost Claim via DSPRV or DRPRV
Applies To: In-State (Day and Residential) and Out of State (Day Only)
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:
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)
Alternate Step 1: Submit Private Excess Cost Claim to Nondistrict Unit
Applies To: Out of State (Residential Placements Only)
Residential 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 for residential placements 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/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).
Step 2: Verify Private Excess Cost Claims on DVPRV Screen
Applies To: All Private Placements (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)
| 10-Mo. Rate ($48,000 Billed / 0.600 FTE Enrollment) | $80,000 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| School District Basic Contribution * | (2020-21 PRI Line 5) | - | $13,000 |
| Annualized Excess Aidable Cost | $67,000 | ||
| Student FTE | × | 0.600 | |
| Aidable Excess Cost | $49,200 | ||
| Private Excess Cost Aid Ratio | (2020-21 PRI Line 8) | × | 0.850 |
| Private Excess Cost Aid | $37,170 |
Out-of-State Tuition Reimbursement Approval
School districts now have the ability to submit claims for out of state Day placements on DSPRV just like they would for in-state placements. No paperwork is required for these placements.
If you are running into issues adding an out of state day placement record on DSPRV, please contact OMSSTAC@nysed.gov for assistance, just as you would for an in-state private placement that is erroring out. Please include the error message you are receiving, if applicable, as well as relevant supporting details. (Example: If the disability classification is erroring out, let us know what disability classification you had selected.)
Out of state residential placements still require approval from the Nondistrict Unit.
| Scenario | Application Submitted to NDU Required? | Paper STAC-1 form submitted to? | Action Required |
|---|---|---|---|
| Student is placed in a day placement out of state. | No | N/A | LEA submits claims online using the DSUMR and DSPRV screens after entering Day/Out of State DCERT. |
| Student is initially placed residentially out of state. | Yes | OOSAPP@nysed.gov | LEA submits application and separate STAC-1s for 2-Month and 10-Month to Nondistrict Unit. |
| Student is returning to a residential placement at an out of state provider for the next school year. | Yes | OOSAPP@nysed.gov | LEA submits application and separate STAC-1s for 2-Month and 10-Month to Nondistrict Unit. |
| Student changes from residential placement at one out of state provider to another. | Yes | OOSAPP@nysed.gov | LEA submits application and separate STAC-1s for 2-Month and 10-Month to Nondistrict Unit. |
| Student moves from one LEA to another LEA but remains residentially placed out of state. | Yes | OOSAPP@nysed.gov | New LEA submits submits application and separate STAC-1s for 2-Month and 10-Month to Nondistrict Unit. |
| Education and/or Maintenance Program Code is incorrect. | No | OOSAPP@nysed.gov | LEA submits revised STAC-1s to Nondistrict Unit for approval. |
| Education and/or Maintenance Service Dates are incorrect (too short) | No | OOSAPP@nysed.gov | LEA submits revised STAC-1s to Nondistrict Unit for approval. |
| Education and/or Maintenance Service Dates are incorrect (too long) | No | STAC Unit | LEA submits revised STAC-1s to cut back records directly to the STAC Unit via SED FTM and notifies OMSSTAC@nysed.gov |