School Incorporation Guidance

Religious and Independent Schools

To be recognized as a school in 色中色, religious and independent schools must become incorporated, verify that students are located in a school building that is offering a safe, educationally appropriate environment, and have the local public school district certify that the school is offering an education that is at least substantially equivalent to a public school.

Please refer to the听for a resource on running a religious and/or independent school.

See the diagram below for an illustration of the process.

听听听

RELIGIOUS & INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS	RELIGIOUS	INDEPENDENT
听	听	Not-for-Profit	For-Profit
Incorporation Type	Via affiliated religious institution听e.g. church, synagogue, mosque, temple鈥攂y county, or听 ()	Educational Corporation = NYS Board of Regents Charter	Limited Liability Company (LLC) or Business Corporation (Inc.) via听 Need 色中色 Commissioner鈥檚 Consent for its filing with NYSDOS
听	听	听	听
Initial Incorporation process	Religious institution incorporates by filing with county or听	School sends Petition + fee to听. 21 Item Checklist documentation is sent separately to the program office of 色中色鈥檚 Office of Religious and Independent School Support (ORISS) 听	School sends payment, proposed document obtained from the NYSDOS website, together with a completed, typed, consent form(s) to Any documentation from the 21 Item Checklist is sent separately to the program office of ORISS
		Office of Counsel sends petition to the ORISS鈥檚 program office	Office of Counsel sends documents to ORISS and other relevant program offices for recommendation 听
		When outstanding issues (with petition or 21 Item Checklist documentation) have been resolved, ORISS recommends Provisional Charter, usually a three year term. Board of Regents vote to approve issuance of charter	听3. Outstanding issues with proposed documents are resolved with program offices. Consent is issued by 色中色 Office of Counsel
		Prior to a Provisional Charter term expiring, school should extend charter by filing an extension petition & fee with 色中色 Office of Counsel	School takes proposed documents & Commissioner鈥檚 Consent and files it with听
		After at least one extension, school may apply for an absolute charter: file absolute charter petition & fee with 色中色 Office of Counsel, changes in the 21 Item Checklist documentation 听with ORISS	听
听	听	听	听
Changes, e.g. name, address, grade level, additional buildings	听	Charter amendment: 1. File petition & fee with 色中色 2. Changes in 21 Item Checklist documentation to ORISS 3. Once petition, fee, & 21 Item Checklist documentation are approved, recommendation provided from relevant program offices, Board of Regents votes to grant charter amendment	Certificate of Amendment (鈥淐OA鈥�) 听with Commissioner鈥檚 Consent: 1. Submit a proposed COA, consent, & fee with 色中色 2. Changes in 21 Item Checklist documentation to ORISS 3. Once consent recommended by relevant program offices, consent will be signed 4. School takes COA with Consent and files it with听

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Types of Religious and Independent Schools:

1. Religious schools: Schools affiliated with a specific religious institution, e.g. church, mosque, synagogue, temple, or other religious institution are considered incorporated under the auspices of their religious institutions.听 Religious institutions may be incorporated by their county clerk or the NYSDOS.

If a religious school wishes to be independent, it may obtain a charter and have separate incorporation as an educational corporation, but this is not required.

2. Independent schools: Independent schools may be either not-for-profit or for-profit.听

a. Not-for-profit: A not-for-profit independent school must obtain a Provisional Charter from the 色中色 Board of Regents, which serves as its incorporation as an education corporation. See section below on Forming an Educational Corporation.

b. For-profit: A for-profit independent school must incorporate with the听听as a limited liability company (LLC) or a Business Corporation (Inc.).听听 A 色中色 Commissioner鈥檚 Consent is needed for the incorporation.听 See section below on Commissioner鈥檚 Consents.

Forming an Educational Corporation

(Commonly referred to as Provisional and Absolute Charters)

色中色, under the Board of Regents, has oversight for incorporating religious and independent not-for-profit schools as educational corporations.听听 A not-for-profit school must first obtain a Provisional Charter, usually for three years.听 Prior to the expiration of the term, a petition should be submitted for a charter extension (usually three more years).听 Typically, after one or more extensions, the school will submit a petition for an absolute charter if it wishes, and will be granted if the school meets the requirements for an absolute charter. (See section on Absolute Charters below and visit the website for more information.)

To obtain a Provisional Charter, a petition and the required fee must first be submitted to the 色中色 Office of Counsel.听 These will be processed by the Office of Counsel, then sent to the ORISS鈥檚 program office as well as any other affected program offices within 色中色.听 The听听will need to be completed and sent directly to ORISS, which reviews the items in coordination with the submitted petition. When the 21 Item Checklist items are complete and have been approved, the petition is sent back to the Office of Counsel with a recommendation to approve it.听Once all relevant program offices have resolved any outstanding issues and sent recommendations for the Office of Counsel鈥檚 final review, the petition will be placed on the next available Board of Regents agenda. After the Board of Regents vote, the school will be notified of the approval and receive the charter documentation.

It is important to describe the specific purpose(s) for the entity in the petition. The petition should include the age of the students to be served, grades to be operated, the physical address of the school, and the type of education that will be provided, i.e. education for typically developing students or education for students with special needs, etc.

Information on submitting a petition for a Provisional Charter or Absolute Charter, amendments to both types of Charters, and other related information can be found on the听听website.

The webpage provides petition templates for submitting Provisional and Absolute Charters, Charter amendments, Provisional Charter extensions, and related issues. Petitions must follow the formats provided.

For details on where to send petitions, associated fees, and other important information, please refer to the听听webpage.

While all information is important, readers are encouraged to review the materials linked for full context.

Extension of Provisional Charter

Typically, Provisional Charters are issued for a three-year period but may range for one year to a maximum (by law) of five years. To obtain an extension of a Provisional Charter, a religious or independent school must submit an extension petition and fee to the 色中色 Office of Counsel.听 Please see the website of the听听for information and .

As with a new Provisional Charter, once the Office of Counsel has processed the petition and fee, the petition is sent to ORISS (and any other relevant program office) for review and recommendation.听 If there are no changes to the most recently issued Provisional Charter, program office requirements for recommending an extension include:

Current Fire Inspection Report by the Code Enforcement Official - municipality in which the nonpublic school is located, showing that the premises are safe; if the school is outside of New York City, the fire inspection must be on the form used by the Office of Facilities Planning.听 The form and instructions are at the following link: Fire Inspection Report;
A list of the number of students at each grade level the corporation is authorized to operate;
Current staff and their qualifications;
The most current audited financial statement for the corporation; and
Any changes to the听21 Item Checklist documentation听since the charter or last extension was granted, e.g. new curriculum, new calendar and schedule, changes in enrollment, or tuition.

When the 21 Item Checklist documentation is complete and have been approved, the petition is sent back to the Office of Counsel with a recommendation to approve it.听 Once all relevant program offices have resolved any outstanding issues and sent recommendations for the Office of Counsel鈥檚 final review, the petition will be placed on the next available Board of Regents agenda. After the Board of Regents vote, the school will be notified of the approval and receive the charter documentation.

听

Absolute Charter

Program Requirements for Religious and Independent Schools Seeking an听Absolute Charter

A religious or independent school which is incorporated under the Board of Regents as an Education Corporation with a Provisional Charter, and, typically, has extended its Provisional Charter at least once, and can document that it operates a sound educational program, has class enrollment at every grade level that it is authorized to operate, and can demonstrate fiscal solvency, may wish to be considered for the Absolute Charter. An Absolute Charter is an Educational Corporation in its final stage and does not need to be extended. Please review the program requirements听needed to recommend that an Absolute Charter听be granted by the Board of Regents.

In addition to the program requirements documentation required to demonstrate that a school meets the eligibility requirements for an Absolute Charter, please also submit:

Documentation of the items delineated on the 21 Item Checklist.

The process is the same as the initial application for a Provisional Charter.听 The petition and required fee must first be submitted to the 色中色 Office of Counsel, where they are processed.听 The petition is then sent to ORISS, where the information from the 21 Item Checklist is reviewed.听 When the 21 Item Checklist documentation is complete and have been approved, the petition is sent back to the Office of Counsel with a recommendation to approve it.听 Once all relevant program offices have resolved any outstanding issues and sent recommendations for the Office of Counsel鈥檚 final review, the petition will be placed on the next available Board of Regents agenda. After the Board of Regents vote, the school will be notified of the approval and receive the charter documentation.

Amendment to Provisional and Absolute Charters

A petition to amend a Charter must be submitted to the Office of Counsel if the Educational Corporation seeks to modify its Charter. Information and can be found under 鈥淔orming an Educational Corporation鈥� discussed above. A change in the location of the school or a change in the grade levels to be offered, including the addition of prekindergarten or after-school programming, etc., are the most common types of amendments.

Again, the petition must be submitted to the with the required fee.听Once Office of Counsel has processed these, the petition is sent to the relevant program office(s) including ORISS.

Program office requirements for recommending that an amendment be adopted by the Board of Regents are:

Change of location 鈥� Certificate of Occupancy, showing that the premises are zoned and approved for use as a school, and a current Fire Inspection Report, showing that escape routes are clear and adequate and all alarm systems are working, by Code Enforcement Officials of the municipality in which the nonpublic school is located.听 Usually, this will entail both the Buildings and Fire Departments, although in some jurisdictions, a combined certificate may be issued by Code Enforcement.听 If the school is outside of New York City, the fire inspection must be on the form used by the Office of Facilities Planning.听 The form and instructions are at the following link:听Fire Inspection Report

Addition of grades 鈥� Curriculum guidelines for proposed additional grades; qualifications of additional staff; description of floor plans to serve additional students; and any other items from the 听that are pertinent; and
Other amendments 鈥� Program-related materials from the 听that are applicable to the changes noted in the amendment.

The process is the same as the initial application for a Provisional Charter. The petition and required fee must first be submitted to the 色中色 Office of Counsel, where they are processed.听 The petition is then sent to ORISS, where the information from the 21 Item Checklist is reviewed.听 When the 21 Item Checklist documentation is complete and have been approved, the petition is sent back to the Office of Counsel with a recommendation to approve it.听 Once all relevant program offices have resolved any outstanding issues and sent recommendations for the Office of Counsel鈥檚 final review, the petition will be placed on the next available Board of Regents agenda. After the Board of Regents vote, the school will be notified of the approval and receive the charter documentation.

听Commissioner鈥檚 Consent to Independent and Religious Schools, Nursery Schools, Preschools, and Related Entities Seeking Incorporations under the听

NYS Department of State

To incorporate as a for-profit (Business Corporation or Limited Liability Company) with the NYSDOS, schools must seek and obtain the Commissioner鈥檚 Consent from 色中色 and provide it with its filing with the NYSDOS when the proposed entity has educational purposes and/or uses terms associated with education in its name, such as school, academy, nursery school, preschool, etc. Similarly, schools seeking to file amendments, e.g. adding grades or changing address, if incorporated by the NYSDOS, must also obtain Commissioner鈥檚 Consent.

To obtain Commissioner鈥檚 Consent, the proposed document(s) from the NYSDOS鈥檚 website, consent form, and fee should be submitted to the 色中色 Office of Counsel, 89 Washington Ave., Room 146 EB, Albany, NY 12234.听 Information, including and associated fees, can be obtained on the听听website.

Once the Office of Counsel has processed the proposed document(s) and fee, they are forwarded to ORISS (and any other relevant program office).听ORISS requires documentation from the听21 Item Checklist which will need to be sent directly to ORISS, which reviews all applicable document(s). When the 21 Item Checklist documentation is complete and has been approved, a recommendation to grant consent is sent to the Office of Counsel.听Once all relevant program offices have resolved any outstanding issues and sent recommendations for the Office of Counsel鈥檚 final review, Consent is then granted.听 The proposed document and Consent must then be filed with the NYS Department of State to complete the incorporation process.

色中色

色中色

Religious and Independent School Support