State guide
The legal pathways, operator types, funding programs and licensing agencies New York recognizes, with links to the state code and agency pages that set the rules.
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Answer below. You get a ranked list of the operator models that fit here, what each would mean for you, and what would change the answer. A ranking of fits, not a licensing determination.
Compulsory attendance
How a family satisfies compulsory attendance outside public school. Your operator type maps to one of these, and the statute linked on each card is what defines it.
Attendance at a nonpublic school whose instruction is substantially equivalent to that of the public schools.
Amounts, dates, thresholds and licensing status are left to the linked sources.
Read the source:nysed.gov ↗p12.nysed.gov ↗nysed.gov ↗p12.nysed.gov ↗bsk.com ↗
Each parent is individually responsible for § 100.10 compliance. The parent files an annual Notice of Intent, an Individualized Home Instruction Plan (IHIP), four quarterly reports, and an annual assessment for each child.
Amounts, dates, thresholds and licensing status are left to the linked sources.
Read the source:govt.westlaw.com ↗
Amounts, dates, thresholds and licensing status are left to the linked sources.
Read the source:nysenate.gov ↗nysenate.gov ↗
For founders
What each type is, and who to talk to. The requirements to hold each designation are set by the statute and agency pages linked on the card; read them before you choose.
A co-op model where each family files its own § 100.10 paperwork is legal and common, but the co-op itself can never be branded as "the school" — every parent remains the school of record for their child.
Amounts, dates, thresholds and licensing status are left to the linked sources.
A NY-certified teacher providing one-on-one or single-family tutoring under § 3204(2) and § 3210(2)(d).
Amounts, dates, thresholds and licensing status are left to the linked sources.
A religious school affiliated with an existing religious corporation can incorporate under that umbrella without seeking a separate Regents charter, then register with NYSED and obtain a BEDS code. This is the fastest path to a registered nonpublic school in NY.
Amounts, dates, thresholds and licensing status are left to the linked sources.
Amounts, dates, thresholds and licensing status are left to the linked sources.
New York State Office of Children and Family Services, Division of Child Care ServicesWho licenses this type
Check before you open
In New York, childcare licensing is administered by New York State Office of Children and Family Services, Division of Child Care Services. The governing rules are cited as 18 NYCRR Parts 413–418 (Day Care Center, Family Day Care, Group Family Day Care, School-Age Child Care); NY Social Services Law § 413.
Agency and rules:ocfs.ny.gov ↗nysenate.gov ↗childdevelopmentcouncil.org ↗ocfs.ny.gov ↗
Common triggers. Not a complete list:
Childcare rules can reach school-age children as well as preschoolers, and a microschool that fits a pathway above can still fall under them. Only the agency can tell you whether your program needs a license. Ask them before you open, and confirm with your attorney.
For families
Grants and loans that aren't tied to one state, each linked to the funder's own page.
This page lists no state-run scholarship, voucher or education savings account program for New York. Check the state education agency for anything new.
Calendar
We don't publish filing windows or due dates. A wrong date can cost a school year. These pages set them; check them directly, and again before you file.
8 NYCRR § 100.10(b)8 NYCRR Part 130; NYSED LSA reporting guidanceBeyond childcare
Situations that can bring a program under a state approval or licensing rule. Approval rules and forms change; confirm with the agency on the linked page.
NY Education Law §§ 3204, 3205, 3210; 8 NYCRR Part 130
Amounts, dates, thresholds and licensing status are left to the linked sources.
Read the source:nysed.gov ↗
NY Education Law § 216; 8 NYCRR § 3.26 (consent to incorporation)
Commissioner's consent must be obtained BEFORE incorporating with NY DOS.
Amounts, dates, thresholds and licensing status are left to the linked sources.
Read the source:p12.nysed.gov ↗
NY Education Law § 216
Obtain a provisional charter from the Board of Regents. The charter serves as incorporation as an education corporation.
Amounts, dates, thresholds and licensing status are left to the linked sources.
Read the source:p12.nysed.gov ↗
NY Social Services Law § 390-b and 18 NYCRR § 413.4 (OCFS programs); NY Education Law § 305(30) (schools)
OCFS-licensed and registered programs: fingerprint-based background checks via the Statewide Central Register and DCJS for staff with regular contact with children. Education Law § 305(30)(a) requires fingerprinting of prospective employees of school districts, charter schools and BOCES and merely AUTHORIZES it for nonpublic and private elementary and secondary schools -- the statute speaks of schools that ELECT to fingerprint.
Amounts, dates, thresholds and licensing status are left to the linked sources.
Read the source:nysenate.gov ↗law.cornell.edu ↗nysenate.gov ↗nysenate.gov ↗
Legislation
Bills the New York legislature passed that touch microschools, learning pods or education savings accounts, each read before it is listed. The sections above describe the law as we last verified it; a law listed here may change them.
Our search found no enacted bills on microschools, learning pods or education savings accounts in New York. A search can miss things, so this is not a statement that nothing changed.
Bill data from LegiScan LLC, CC BY 4.0. Updated Sep 26, 2026. Every law listed was read before it was listed. Read the act on the legislature's site before you rely on it.
Verification
Every source this page draws on, split by who published it. Check which group a link is in, and who published it, before you rely on it.
Government-published — which is not the same as state-published. Most are this state's own code, regulations, agency and legislature pages. Others are federal, and some of those only SUMMARISE this state's rules rather than setting them; a few are city or county government. A summary of the law is not the law, and neither a federal nor a local page is a source of state obligation — so check who published any you rely on.
Private publishers reproducing this state's statute and regulation verbatim. Faithful, and often the only free full text where a state runs no official code server — but not the official record, and not maintained by anyone the state answers for. Where exact wording decides something, confirm it against the state's own publication.
News coverage, program directories, advocacy and association publications. Useful context, and listed so you can see what this page drew on — but they are not the law and they are not the state speaking. This list is not mapped claim by claim, so if a specific fact matters to a decision, confirm it against a government source rather than assuming it came from one.