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Religious and Independent School Support

Religious and Independent School Support

Dates to Remember 2025-2026

A a PDF version of the document titled "Dates to Remember" is available for download.

JULY

July 11, 2025

  • The Last Day to Request August 2025 Regents Examinations is Friday, July 11, 2025. August Regents Examinations will be administered on August 19th and 20th. For more information on assessments, see the Office of Assessment website and the Regents Examination Schedule.
AUGUST

August 1, 2025

  • Mathematics, Science, & Technology (MST) Teacher Salary Reimbursement Grant – Eligible schools for MST should submit claims by August 1, 2025.
  • Art & Music Teacher Salary (AMTS) Reimbursement Grant – Eligible schools for AMTS should submit claims by the extension deadline of August 29, 2025.
​Early/Mid-August 
  • Shipment of Examination Materials for the August 2025 Regents Exam period will be arriving at schools in early to mid-August. Please ensure that school staff are available to receive these materials upon delivery. For more information on the anticipated delivery of these materials, see the Office of Assessment website and the Regents Examination Schedule.
  • All Data (K-12 Assessments, Enrollment, Demographics, Graduation Rate, etc.) is due in the Student Information Repository System (SIRS) by August 13, 2025. Religious and independent schools must contract with a Regional Information Center (RIC) to report data in SIRS. Any data reported in SIRS will be used to populate the Comprehensive Information Report (CIR) and will be used for Mandated Services Aid (MSA) & Comprehensive Attendance Policy (CAP) application submission.

August 19-20, 2025

August 31, 2025

  • 2025-26 Written Affirmation of LEA Consultation with Private School Officials Form (required as part of the 2025-26 Consolidated Application for ESSA-Funded Programs) – The deadline for LEAs to submit the form to NYSED for the 2025-26 school year is August 31, 2025.* The 2025-26 Consolidated Application for ESSA-Funded Programs can be found on the Office of Accountability's website. LEAs must provide private schools with opportunities for timely and meaningful consultation prior to completion of the form. Consultation must address all topics identified on the form. The form MUST be completed by the public school official in consultation with private school officials.

* It is important to note that individual LEAs will require private school officials to complete, sign, and return this form prior to August 31st since the LEAs must submit their applications to NYSED by this date.  

 

SEPTEMBER

September 1, 2025

  • Substantial Equivalency (SE) Local School Authority (LSA) Survey – Religious and Independent School List – The list of religious and independent schools that public schools are required to report to NYSED is typically due September 1st. For 2025, this reporting will be combined with the reporting due on December 1st. Religious and independent schools should work with their LSA to report their pathway and to ensure they have the correct address for each site. If the school has a BEDS/SED code, it should also ensure that school site addresses are up-to-date in SEDREF to prevent any disruption of services. BEDS Change of Address forms can be found on the BEDS Code Information website.

Early September

Questions on immunizations may be directed to the NYS Bureau of Immunizations: osas@health.ny.gov. Questions on school implementation of the requirements may be directed to the NYSED Office of Student Support Services at StudentSupportServices@nysed.gov. 

Schools must sign up for the New York State Immunization Information System (NYSIIS), or for schools located in New York City, the Citywide Immunization Registry (CIR). Public Health Law requires healthcare providers to report all immunizations administered to persons less than 19 years of age, along with the person’s immunization histories to either NYSIIS or CIR. Schools can access student immunization records and track compliance in either system.   

The New York State Center for School Health has information regarding immunizations under their A-Z resources page.  

Late September/ Early October

  • January 2026 Regents Examinations Requesting Memo is sent out in late September/early October. This memo provides information on how to request and store Regents examination materials. It also provides information about the online requesting system deadlines. For more information on assessments, please go to the Office of State Assessment website.  
OCTOBER

October 1, 2025

  • BEDS IMF 2025-26 – The 2025-26 Basic Educational Data System (BEDS) Institutional Master File (IMF) application for Public School Districts and Schools, Charter Schools, BOCES, and Religious and Independent Schools will be available on Wednesday, October 1, 2025, and must be submitted by November 14, 2025. For additional information, please visit the Office of Information and Reporting Services’ website.

Early October

  • Mandated Services Aid & Comprehensive Attendance Policy (MSA/CAP) Guidelines – An announcement regarding the availability of aid and forms for the 2024-25 school year is expected to be made by October. We anticipate the online system to become available via the NYSED Business Portal Website by mid-December. Eligible schools for MSA/CAP must submit claims by April 1, 2026.
  • Grades 3-8 English Language Arts and Mathematics Tests and Grades 5 and 8 Science Tests Requesting Memo – This memo provides information concerning procedures for requesting, shipping, and storing materials for the 2026 Grades 3-8 English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics Tests and the Grades 5 and 8 Science Tests. It also provides information on the online request system including the deadline for submitting requests. For additional information, please visit the Office of State Assessment website. 

The testing schedule is posted on the Office of State Assessment website. Information on computer-based testing is available on the CBT Support website.

 

 

NOVEMBER

November 12 -13, 2025

November 14, 2025

  • BEDS IMF – The due date for the BEDS IMF is November 14, 2025.
DECEMBER

December 1, 2025

  • Substantial Equivalency (SE) Local School Authority (LSA) survey from Public School – SE Determination – The SE Pathways that religious and independent schools are choosing should be reported to the LSA so they can make the SE determination and report it to NYSED by December 1st.  Religious and independent schools should work with their LSA to report their pathway and to ensure they have the correct address for each site. If the school has a BEDS/SED code, it should also ensure that school site addresses are up-to-date in SEDREF to prevent any disruption of services. BEDS Change of Address forms can be found on the BEDS Code Information website.

December 15, 2025

  • Immunization Survey – The deadline for submission is December 15th annually. 

December 16, 2025

Mid-December

  • BEDS Code Applications – Applications for new BEDS codes must be received and completed by mid-December for BEDS codes to be effective for the 2025-2026 school year. Applications can be found on ORISS’ BEDS Code Information website.

Please note that if a school’s address has changed and the new site is located in a different school district, the school will need a new BEDS code. New BEDS codes can only be assigned for the 2025–2026 school year if complete applications are received by mid-December. BEDS Change of Address forms can also be found on the BEDS Code Information website.

  • Mandated Services Aid & Comprehensive Attendance Policy (MSA/CAP) – We anticipate the online system to become available via the NYSED Business Portal Website by mid-December. Eligible schools for 2024/25 MSA/CAP aid must submit claims by April 1, 2026.

December 31, 2025

JANUARY 2026

Early January

  • January 2026 Regents Examinations Administration Memo is sent, containing essential information about the administration of the upcoming Regents examinations. For more information on assessments, please go to the Office of State Assessment website.

January 20 - 23, 2026

  • January 2026 Regents Examinations will be administered between January 20-23, 2026.  

FEBRUARY

Mid/Late February

  • Religious and Independent High School Registration – Applications due February 10, 2026. For more information visit the Religious and Independent High School Registration website.
  • June Regents Examination Requesting Memo is sent out in mid/late-February. This memo provides information on how to order and store Regents exams. It also provides information about the online requesting system deadlines. For more information on assessments, please go to the  Office of State Assessment website.
  • Scholarships for Academic Excellence (SAE) – The Scholarships for Academic Excellence (SAE) provide awards to high school students who rank as the top student(s) in their respective high school at the end of their junior year. These scholarships support attendance at an institution of higher education located in New York State. Beginning with the 2025 application cycle, all SAE applications must be submitted electronically through SED Monitoring. This new online process replaces the paper form, improving efficiency and streamlining the management of this important scholarship program for students.

Any questions on SAE, its survey, or submission may be sent via email to scholar@nysed.gov. Additional information about Scholarships including SAE is available on the NYSED website’s Access, Equity and Community Engagement Services page.

 
MARCH

March 31, 2026

  • Health Services – Education Law 912 requires school districts in New York State to provide resident students attending religious and independent schools with any/all the same health and welfare services available to students attending schools in the district. It is strongly recommended that the religious or independent school administration communicate with the school district of location’s superintendent regarding the best time to submit the written request for health services. The request for health services should specify exactly what services are being requested. It is recommended that such requests be reviewed annually.  

For additional information regarding health services and what may be requested visit: Religious and Independent School Handbook – Health Services. 

APRIL

Spring - ORISS Funding Opportunities

Monitor the Non-Public Listserv for the release of Funding Opportunity Programs, including:

Spring Deadlines - as determined by public school districts: 

  • Transportation Requests – Reminder that religious and independent schools should contact their public school district prior to the April 1, 2026 deadline.
  • Library, Software, and Hardware Loan Services – While the law does not specify a date, the religious or independent school administrator is urged to assemble and submit requests to their public school districts in the spring prior to the year in which the programs will be used.

For additional information about loan services visit: Religious and Independent School Handbook-Loans.

 

MAY

Early May

May 31, 2026

  • MSA/CAP Payment –2024/25 Submitted claims will be paid by May 31, 2026.

Late May/ Early June

  • June Regents Examinations Administration Memo – Memo is sent in late May/early June, containing essential information about the administration of the upcoming June Regents examinations. For more information on assessments, please go to the Office of State Assessment website.
JUNE

June 1, 2026

  • Special Education Service Requests must be submitted by June 1, 2026 for the 2026-2027 school year. Special education service requests for religious and independent schools are formal requests made by parents of students with disabilities who are enrolled in private or religious schools. The request ensures the student is evaluated for special education services. If the student is found eligible, the public school district must provide appropriate special education services, even though the child is attending a religious and independent school. For more information, please see Education Law Section 3602-C.
  • Occupational Education Requests must be submitted by June 1, 2026. In order to arrange for participation in an occupational education program, the parent of a religious or independent school pupil must file a written request with the board of education of the district in which the pupil resides by June 1. The administrator of a religious or independent school may receive and forward the requests for the parents to the board of education. For more information, please go to Religious and Independent School Handbook - Occupational Education.
  • Gifted Education Requests must be submitted by June 1, 2026. A parent should apply for dual enrollment services to the district of residence. Requests for participation must be filed with the board of education of the district of residence on or before June 1 preceding the school year for which the request is being made. For more information, please go to Religious and Independent School Handbook - Gifted Education.
  • Textbook Loan Requests must be submitted by June 1, 2026. The administrator prepares textbook requests for the coming year and submits them to parents or district. The law allows a board of education to set a date by which the districts must receive requests for textbook loans, but this date cannot be earlier than June 1 of the year preceding that for which textbooks are requested. For more information, please go to Religious and Independent School Handbook - Textbook Loans.
  • Regents – Schools administering Regents Examinations must submit their answer sheets to their Regional Information Center (RIC)/scanning center. Contact your RIC for specific due dates. Visit the Office of State Assessment’s website for Testing Schedule information.
 
Sneak Peek at Important Deadlines for 2026-2027

Mandated Services Aid & Comprehensive Attendance Policy (MSA-CAP) – Submission deadline, April 1, 2026.

Mathematics, Science, & Technology (MST) and Art & Music Teacher Salary (AMTS) – Submission deadline, August 1, 2026.

Final SIRS End of Year (EOY) Data are due for participating religious and independent schools on Friday, August 21, 2026.

SIRS EOY Data Certification for participating religious and independent schools is due Friday, September 4, 2026.

For additional information, please consult the Verification and Certification website.

 

Please be aware of the Timeline of School Year Data Reporting in SIRS for 2025-2026. More information is available at the IRS website for participating Religious & Independent Schools.