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BOCES: New York's shared-services partners

BOCES stands for Boards of Cooperative Educational Services. A BOCES lets school districts share teachers, programs and services that are hard for one district to run alone.

37BOCES in New York State
1948Year the State Legislature created BOCES
12Regional Information Centers (RICs) for school technology and data
Big 5New York City, Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse and Yonkers are not BOCES members
StudentsCareer and technical programs, New Visions, summer, adult education and how to apply. FamiliesSpecial education, English learner help, rides, costs and how to ask. TeachersProfessional learning, CTLE, Teacher Centers, RICs, jobs and substitute pools. School leadersCoSers, BOCES aid, cooperative bidding, data privacy and shared technology. DirectoryAll 37 BOCES and 12 RICs. Filter by county. How BOCES works in 3DTurn a BOCES region in 3D, watch the motion explainer, try the money with made-up numbers, take the quiz. For BOCES reviewersEvaluate Goal100: sample lessons, privacy and NIST CSF status, accessibility, roadmap and a pilot plan.

What is a BOCES?

NYSED calls a BOCES "a public organization that provides shared educational programs and services to school districts." The State Legislature passed the law in 1948 to help small rural districts combine their resources.

Near Deer Park? Deer Park Union Free School District is on the list of districts served by Western Suffolk BOCES (from the Western Suffolk BOCES "About" page). Other Long Island BOCES: Eastern Suffolk BOCES and Nassau BOCES. See Long Island programs.

How BOCES works, in one picture

How a BOCES works Several school districts sign cooperative service agreements with their BOCES. NYSED approves each service for one year. The BOCES delivers shared services such as career and technical education, special education, teacher training, technology and cooperative bids. Districts pay their share, and the state returns BOCES aid to the districts the next school year. District Acomponent District Bcomponent District Ccomponent sign a CoSer · pay a share BOCES Board: 5 to 15 members, elected by component boards District Superintendent: executive officer of the board NYSED approves each service for one year deliversservices Career & technical ed Special education Teacher training Technology (RIC) Cooperative bids Arts, summer, adult ed State BOCES aid goes back to the districts next school year (approved shared services only)
Districts choose services → BOCES delivers → the state returns aid.

How districts buy services (CoSers)

A CoSer (Cooperative Service Agreement or Application) is the formal document for one shared service. NYSED says BOCES statewide run "over 5,000 CO-SERs" each year.

  1. Spring
    Each district decides which shared services it wants for next year. NYSED's guide says districts decide in April.
  2. Agreement
    The district and BOCES sign a CoSer. A service must be shared by two or more districts (or a district and BOCES).
  3. Approval
    NYSED approves each aided service for one year only. An unapproved service is not aidable.
  4. School year
    BOCES delivers the service. The district pays its share.
    BOCES prepares aid claims for its component districts.
  5. Next school year
    The state returns part of the cost as BOCES aid. NYSED says the amount uses a formula that "takes into account the districts' financial resources."
Example with made-up numbers

What a shared service costs a district

A district buys a shared service for $100,000. Pretend its BOCES aid ratio is 0.40 (a made-up number; real ratios come from the state formula).

Cost this year: $100,000 Aid next year: 100,000 × 0.40 = $40,000 Net cost to the district: 100,000 − 40,000 = $60,000

The district still pays the full $100,000 this year. The aid comes later. Ask your district business office for the real numbers.

Who runs a BOCES?

The BOCES board

  • The Commissioner sets the board size: 5 to 15 members (Education Law §1950).
  • Members are elected by the boards of the component districts.
  • A full term is three years, starting July 1 after the election.
  • Elections happen at the annual BOCES meeting, held in April.

The District Superintendent

  • The chief executive officer of a BOCES.
  • By law, "the executive officer of the board."
  • Also serves as a representative of the Commissioner of Education in the region.

Want to watch? BOCES board meetings are public. Each BOCES posts its board calendar and budget on its website. Find yours in the directory.

How BOCES can touch a student's day

Many students never set foot in a BOCES building, but BOCES may still be part of their day. Ask your school which of these it uses.

A short history

  1. 1948The Legislature passes the law creating BOCES, to help small rural districts combine resources.
  2. 1950sCooperative boards spread across the state. Laws from 1950 and 1951 still shape BOCES today.
  3. 1972The Intermediate School District Act is repealed. BOCES become New York's regional education units.
  4. Today37 BOCES serve nearly all of the state's school districts. The Big 5 city districts are not members.

Similar organizations

These groups also help New York schools. Some are part of the state system; others are associations or nonprofits.

Sources

Rules and lists change. If this page and an official page disagree, the official page wins. All links checked Nov 8, 2026.