Auxiliary services includes school counseling, benchmark screening services, psychological services, services for exceptional children, remedial services, speech and hearing services, services for the improvement of the educationally disadvantaged (such as, but not limited to, teaching English as a second language), and other secular, neutral, non-ideological services of a supplementary and remedial nature.

These state-funded services are provided directly by the local intermediate unit to students enrolled in a nonprofit private school within the Intermediate Unit. The school must affirm the eligibility of students and facilitate the delivery of services. The local Intermediate Unit makes the final determination regarding what services shall be provided after consulting with the non-public school to determine which general categories of children shall receive services, what services shall be provided, how and where the services shall be provided and how the services shall be evaluated. These are not services that would carry an individualized entitlement for students but, rather, are provided subject to limitations of funding appropriated annually in the state budget. Services may be provided in the schools which students attend or in other settings mutually agreed upon by the school and Intermediate Unit (subject to the extent permitted by the Pennsylvania and US constitutions).

A full description of Auxiliary Services and the regulations governing service delivery can be found at Chapter 112 – Auxiliary Services for Non-public School Students .

Requests for services are initiated by the non-public school in response to the Pennsylvania Department of Education’s online enrollment questionnaire each fall (PNPE Report). Services provided in each IU are determined by:

(1) those already offered in area school districts;

(2) established student need based on consultation with administrators;

(3) budgetary limitations, and

(4) the supply of qualified personnel, materials and equipment.

The role of the NEIU Act 89 Program is to provide supplemental services to students in regular education programs. The program may not provide special education programs for students who are officially identified nor may Act 89 services be presented or perceived as a substitute for special education placement. Students identified as exceptional prior to entrance in a non-public school, however, may be enrolled in Act 89 programs as long as they benefit from the program and time is available for instruction.

Student Eligibility

Eligible students are Pennsylvania residents parentally placed in qualifying non-profit K-12 non-public schools on a full-time basis. The following students are not funded by Act 89 and, subsequently, are not eligible for non-public education services:

Preschool students
Home school students
Students whose primary residence is outside of Pennsylvania
Students for whom tuition is paid by the Commonwealth

IU 19 currently provides the following services under Act 89: Auxiliary Services for Non-public School Students:

Reading and Math Remedial Support
School Counseling Services
Academic and Behavior Concerns (ABC) Council
Classroom Coaching Assistance
Equitable Participation

Non-Public and Private School Services- Act 89

Department Contacts

Act 89 – Auxiliary Services for Non-public School Students