New York State Education Dept. Bureau of School District Organization Boards of Cooperative Educational Services New Service…

Chronologically by school year, then alphabetically by name of BOCES.

During the 1930s educators envisioned a comprehensive high school that would educate all children for work and life in a democracy. However, most central schools were not big enough to offer a full array of academic and vocational courses. In 1944 a Council on Rural Education, funded by farm organizations, recommended a "new type of rural supervisory district," responsible to school districts and responsive to needs of rural people. The result was the intermediate district law of 1948. While the intermediate districts were to be formed, the act provided for temporary boards of cooperative educational services (now called BOCES), which the New York State Education Department (NYSED) hoped would "get people working together across district lines" and provide shared educational services in rural areas. The intermediate districts never came into existence, but the BOCES proved to be very popular with rural school districts and the general public, since they provided a wide range of educational services at reasonable cost, while maintaining a significant degree of local control over the programs offered by the BOCES.

Today there are 37 BOCES, incorporating all school districts except for those in the "Big 5" cities (New York, Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, and Yonkers). A BOCES is formed by the Commissioner at the request of the school boards in one or more supervisory districts. The BOCES is headed by the district superintendent; school board representatives collectively elect BOCES members and approve the BOCES budget; and NYSED approves BOCES service contracts. Concern that this structure insulates a BOCES from public scrutiny prompted legislation requiring the Commissioner, starting 1996, to submit an annual report to the Governor and the Legislature on BOCES finances and pupil performance. In the early years the typical BOCES service was travelling teachers for specialized subjects. After 1967 BOCES were authorized to own and operate their own facilities, and BOCES now offer vocational and special education programs as well as many administrative services for member districts.

This series consists of applications submitted to NYSED by district superintendents of schools requesting approval for new services to be offered by Boards of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) during school years 1976/77 - 1979/80. Shared services must be approved in advance by the department whether or not they are funded by the State. Although annual re-approval for continuing services is not included in this series, it does document the review process for new proposals. Each application file contains the following: proposal describing the service, target group, planning efforts, method of evaluation, rationale, and magnitude of the service; correspondence and memoranda between bureau staff and local officials in subject area or curriculum development offices. This correspondence often solicits comments on the proposed service from subject specialists; and approval/disapproval form giving reasons and conditions. Also filed before the proposals for each BOCES is a sheet summarizing new service proposal activity each year. This sheet lists the proposed services, dates received and returned, and departmental action taken.

The programs proposed in these applications include those related to multiply handicapped students, foreign language instruction, driver education, curriculum development, computer laboratories, arts education, gifted instruction, vocational education, and administrative data processing. Included are programs that send personnel to schools, as well as programs located at BOCES service centers.

B0473Series B0473, BOCES correspondence and administrative files, contains files maintained by the Bureau of School District Organization documenting the BOCES program

B0474Series B0474, Boards of Cooperative Educational Services applications for shared services, contains applications from 1948 to 1968

11000Series 11000, BOCES annual financial and statistical reports, contains annual reports from each BOCES

B0477Series B0477, Bureau of School District Organization subject and administrative files

B0482Series B0482, Assistant Commissioner for District Organization and District Superintendents county district administration and supervision files

There are no restrictions regarding access to or use of the material.