What is Private-Pay NYC SETSS?

For students coping with a learning disability, general education in a classroom can be full of struggles and frustrations. To address this, parents and students may apply for an Individualized Education Program or IEP. Available for qualified students in PreK-12, an IEP details the type of support, services, and special education needs of a child. One of the most common forms of support mandated by IEPs is special education teacher support services (NYC SETSS).

Similar to a special education itinerant teacher (SEIT), an NYC (Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, Bronx), Long Island, and Westchester private-pay SETSS provider works with students with a diagnosed learning disability in and outside the classroom. SETSS providers help students develop the required skills to learn alongside their peers in the classroom. Students at the preschool level (aged three to five) primarily work with a private-pay SETSS provider, while SEITs typically support K-12 students.

A private-pay SETSS provider must have a bachelor’s degree or above from an accredited college or university, as well as a teaching certificate and a state license in special education. These certifications often focus on specific developmental levels, whether early childhood, elementary, and middle or high school. NYC SETSS providers must also obtain further qualifications when working with the blind and individuals who are hard of hearing or bilingual.  

Private-pay NYC SETSS providers can be professionals trained in special education throughout their degrees and careers. In other cases, they are classroom teachers who have done additional training and coursework to qualify for a NYC SETSS certification and license. SETSS providers are trained in special education theory and practice, literacy skills, assessment, and specific academic content areas.

A private-pay SETSS provider works with students in either general or full-time special education. They may work with students individually or in small groups for at least two hours weekly and no more than 50 percent of the school day.

Special education teacher support services NYC SETSS teachers provide legally mandated support to students who need additional help in school due to an identified learning or attentional disability. These include speech, language, and motor delays. 

The scope of a NYC SETSS provider’s support depends on the recommendation of a student’s IEP. The IEP must include the amount of time a student needs SETSS, identify the type of services, indicate subject areas where a student will receive help, and specify where these services should be provided (classroom, home, or a separate location). 

A SETSS teacher delivers direct and indirect services or a combination of both. 

Direct services can be provided in the classroom in or a separate location. It involves individualized instruction (based on each student’s IEP) designed to develop a student’s compensatory skills and provide remediation. This type of special education teacher support services NYC SETSS is critical in addressing learning gaps and deficits directly linked to or resulting from the student’s disability. The primary aim of providing direct services is to improve these areas of deficit and strengthen cognitive skills instead of additional academic help or tutoring.

Indirect services, on the other hand, refers to the collaboration between the student’s general education teacher and private-pay SETSS provider. A SETSS provider consults with the child’s school teachers with the goal of enhancing the child’s overall classroom performance. It includes modifying the learning environment and adjusting teaching methods and strategies in class to accommodate the student’s needs. Both educators must agree on these adjustments and techniques and be consistently applied inside and outside the classroom.

Schools are mandated to provide special education teacher support services SETSS to students with identified learning disabilities, following the recommendations of their IEP. The Department of Education may provide these services for students, but parents can also seek the help of a NYC SETSS provider privately.

A student does not require an IEP when working with a NYC SETSS teacher privately. At Brooklyn Letters, our private-pay SETSS providers (not ABA) work with students who need remediating and extra support in their academics. 

Our highly specialized NYC SETSS providers are experts in delivering one-on-one guidance and personalized tutoring and learning support to students with a range of diagnoses, including speech-language impairments, learning disabilities, autism, and ADHD, to name a few. 

Brooklyn Letters’ special education teacher support services are not reimbursable by the DOE or by RSAs. Parents pay us directly. To learn more about Brooklyn Letters’ private-pay SETSS and SEITS and how we can support your child in achieving their academic and learning goals, reach out to us today!

Brooklyn Letters offers private pay SEIT/SETSS work performed by licensed special educators. These services are not reimbursable by the Department of Education. Brooklyn Letters also offers private at-school and at-camp professional support services by licensed professionals who have expertise working with students who exhibit attentional, speech and language, and learning delays. The latter does not qualify for Department of Education SEIT work and these services cannot be used to justify support for Department of Education SEIT/SETSS services. All of our private pay SEIT/SETSS work is paid directly and weekly from the clients to the professional working with the student.