Sec. 112.3. Approval of BOCES-operated services

(a) Except as otherwise provided in section 112.4 of this Part, BOCES-operated services shall not be provided without the prior approval of the commissioner. Approval may be granted for a maximum of one school year.

(b) Each program of BOCES-operated services shall be included in a single cooperative service application (CO-SER) and shall have an identified account in the service section of the BOCES budget. CO-SER's for proposed shared services shall be submitted to the commissioner for approval on or before the first day of February of the school year prior to the year in which services are to be provided.

(c) To be approved, shared services for which BOCES aid is claimed shall:

(1) meet all applicable requirements of the Education Law and this Title;

(2) be part of a program of services created in response to formal requests by component school districts;

(3) supplement the activities and services operated by component districts;

(4) provide for component district involvement in the planning and operation of the program of services; and

(5) be developed on the basis of effectiveness or economics as evidenced by one or more of the following circumstances:

(i) individual component districts lack sufficient numbers of pupils eligible for and/or interested in receiving the service;

(ii) the program requires high cost or specialized equipment, facilities or staff;

(iii) operation of the program by the BOCES will result in a lower total cost than individual component district operation; and/or

(iv) operation of the program by the BOCES will result in improved service to pupils.