Referral Process for Out of District CSE Placements

What is an "Out of District" CSE special education placement?

Some students with disabilities who have an Individual Education Program (IEP) may require a specialized program that is not currently available in the Rochester City School District due to the complexity of their educational disability needs. These programs may include, but are not limited to:

• Board of Cooperative Education Services (BOCES) district or center-based program - Program designed to support a broader range of services than would otherwise be available in suburban and rural districts. All programs are exclusively for students with disabilities and so they will have limited, or no, interaction with general education peers in these settings. Some of the programs are housed in a suburban or rural school district school. Other BOCES programs are located in a BOCES operated center. Please note that by law, the Rochester City School District and the other "Big 5" school districts are not part of any BOCES unit. Monroe #1 BOCES services the districts on the East side of Rochester. Monroe #2 BOCES serves the districts on the West side of Rochester. Therefore, students from the RCSD will only be considered for intake by BOCES when there are no urban or rural districts with students on a wait-list for that BOCES program. 
• 853 Schools - Private schools that have been approved by New York State Education Department (NYSED) to accept students with disabilities referred by their Committee on Special Education (CSE). The majority of these schools accept only students with disabilities. As a result, students in these schools will typically not have interaction with general education peers. Types of 853 School may include:
  • Day schools - schools operating during the typical school day. 
  • Day Treatment - a day school that is jointly approved by New York State Education Department (NYSED) and Office of Mental Health (OMH) that includes psychiatric medication management, family and individual counseling, and wrap-around services.
  • Critical Care/Residential Treatment Center (RTC) - a program with dual approval by NYSED and Office of Mental Health (OMH) that provides residential and educational services in a single CSE placement.
  • Children's Residential Project (CRP) - an in-state program for students with severe and complex disabilities unable to be served in a day program and requiring 24 hour care due to their educational and other disabilities. Priority admission is given to students who are currently placed in an out-of-state special education school or at risk of being placed in an out-of-state school due to their complex disabilities. CRP schools are jointly approved by NYSED and Office for People with Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD) including the Intermediate Care Facility (ICF) residences at the school. 
• State Supported Schools (4201) - Schools like the Rochester School for the Deaf which are independently operated but approved/supported by NYSED. Parents may start the screening process directly or upon referral by their CSE. Should a 4201 school offer admission based on a parent referral (and not a district referral), the committee on special education is still required to review the placements appropriateness under the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) regulations.
• State Operated Schools - Schools such as New York State School for the Blind are operated directly by NYSED. Parents/guardians and/or the Committee on Special Education (CSE) may refer a student to those schools. However, upon placement in a State Operated School, the public district is no longer the CSE of record and CSE services are provided by the State Operated School instead.

All CSE placements in out-of-district schools are at public expense. Out-of-district CSE placements do not include charter schools, private/parochial schools, or home schooling. Please see guidance on special education at parental placements for information on services in those settings.

Criteria for CSE referral for an Out-of-District Placement

The Committee on Special Education may only refer a public school student to an out-of-district placement if the public district cannot meet the disability needs of the student. The CSE must demonstrate that it has attempted the full range of appropriate in-district placements and that even with additional supports and services, those placements were unable to meet the disability needs of a student.

• Additional supports and services may include, but are not limited to:
  • Specialized reading instruction
  • Behavior Intervention Plan
  • 1:1 or shared classroom aide
  • Additional related services (counseling, speech, occupational therapy, physical therapy, etc...)
  • Additional nursing supports (provided by the school or by a private duty nurse)

Federal and State law and regulations require that students with disabilities be educated in the "least restrictive environment" (LRE) as is possible in order to provide a Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE). Least Restrictive Environment is the program of services with the greatest degree of integration with general education students as is possible, in the school the student would have otherwise attended when possible, or as geographically close as is feasible for the program availability. 

Education law and the Regulations of the Commissioner of NYSED require the RCSD to follow those procedures and prove the following in order to make a referral to an Out-of-District placement:

• Part 200.6(j)(iii) The committee on special education has certified that the student is of school-age and has a disability or combination of disabilities, and has further documented that the nature or severity of the student's disability is such that appropriate public facilities for instruction are not available. This documentation shall include, but need not be limited to:  

1. 1. documentation of efforts to place the student in a public facility and the outcomes of those efforts, and/or of committee on special education findings regarding the lack of suitability of each currently available and geographically accessible public placement; 
   2. documentation of all efforts to enable the student to benefit from instruction in less restrictive settings using support services and supplementary aids and special education services...
   3. detailed evidence of the student's lack of progress in previous less restrictive programs and placements...
   4. in the case of a recommendation by the committee on special education for placement of a student in a residential program, documentation that residential services are necessary to meet the student's educational needs as identified in the student's IEP...
      • RCSD note to parents/guardians - there are many pathways towards residential support for youth with disabilities. A public district may only apply for a residential school when the residence is necessary to enable the child to access education because of their educational disability. Other family system needs such as for permanent housing, food, or medical care are typically not considered by the public school district when asked to make a residential school referral. Please consult with OPWDD and OMH for other residential options when the student need is not a result of their educational disability.
   5. in the case of a recommendation by the committee on special education for placement of a student in an educational facility outside of the State, documentation that there are no appropriate public or private facilities for instruction available within this State...

Process for CSE Referral to an Out-of-District Placement

1. Parent/guardian or district CSE Chairperson make a request for a Full-Committee CSE to consider the need for a referral to an Out-of-District placement. The Full-Committee CSE will decide if the criteria listed above have been met. A parent/guardian who believes a referral is needed should contact the CSE Chairperson (typically an Associate Director of Special Education) at their current school to make this request.
2. The Full-Committee CSE will alert the specialist assigned to apply to out-of-district programs if the Full-Committee CSE reaches the decision to authorize a referral for an Out-of-District Program Search.
3. The student will typically stay in their current program while the program search is ongoing (called "pendency" or "stay put"). Additional supports may be put into place during the search process. There is no guarantee that an out-of-district program will accept the student. 
4. The district is required to apply to the least restrictive placements possible.
   1. The district will begin an out-of-district search by applying to local day programs that may match a student's needs.
   2. If the student meets the criteria for a residential school referral, the district will apply to appropriate schools within New York State.
   3. Only if the student meets the criteria for a residential school referral, and has not been accepted to any New York State School, will the district apply to approved out-of-state programs. Additionally, the public district must attempt to return the student to a New York State school annually when they are placed out-of-state. 
5. Programs that may have openings and believe the student may benefit from their program will contact the Rochester City School District and offer to arrange and intake (screening) visit with the student and family. An intake/screening is not a guarantee of acceptance by the out-of-district placement.
6. If one or more out-of-district placements offers admission to the student, they will alert the Rochester City School District directly. The RCSD will schedule a full-committee CSE meeting to evaluate the following (and additional factors as appropriate):
   • Does the student still require an out-of-district placement, or have the additional supports worked?
   • Has the district exhausted all appropriate placements and supports available within the district?
   • Is the out-of-district placement the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) for the student based on their educational disability?
   • If there are more than one offer of admission, which program is most appropriate to meet the students need in the Least Restrictive Environment?
7. No out-of-district placement is obligated to accept a student. The RCSD is not obligated to accept an offer of admission if that program is not the Least Restrictive Environment that provides a Free and Appropriate Public Education to the student based on their educational disability.
8. Parents/guardians retain all rights to exercise rights under the Procedural Safeguards Notice for any disagreements with Committee on Special Education Decisions.

Parentally placed students in a state-approved private school for students with disabilities

Some state approved private schools will accept referrals by both a public district CSE and directly by a parent/guardian. The parents/guardians are responsible for tuition when they unilaterally choose to apply directly to a state-approved private school for students with disabilities (usually an 853 school) and are accepted. The public district will only pay tuition to a state-approved private school when the decision to place the student into that school is approved by the CSE. The criteria for district placement is the same as above for any out-of-district CSE referral. The district may legally only place a student with a disability into a private school for students with disabilities if it is the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) that can provide a "Free and Appropriate Public Education" (FAPE). At no time will the public district place into, or pay tuition to, a private school that is not a state-approved school for students with disabilities (such as a parochial school).