Accreditation Requirements
Any school, whether a public school or a non-public school, seeking accreditation by the Indiana State Board of Education must meet the same set of requirements: compliance with legal standards, completion of a school improvement plan, and review of student achievement indicators.
1. LEGAL STANDARDS
Each school will comply with the following legal standards.
- Health and Safety
- Minimum Time
- Staff-Student Ratio
- Curriculum Offerings
- Instructional Staff
- ISTEP+ Participation
- Mandatory Annual Assessment
- Accurate and Timely Submission of All Reports
- Annual Performance Report
Click to view a checklist of legal standards. Click to view the accreditation law (IC 20-31-4-6) and State Board accreditation rules (511 IAC 6.1) for citations to related laws and rules.
2. STRATEGIC AND CONTINUOUS SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT AND ACHIEVEMENT PLAN
Each school will complete and provide to the Department a copy of the school’s most recent revised strategic and continuous school improvement and achievement plan.
Click here to view the required components of the plan within an optional format.
Click to view the accountability law (IC
20-31-5) and State Board rules (511
IAC 6.2) regarding the development of the school improvement plan.
3. STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT INDICATORS
The State Board of Education will place schools in categories based on school improvement and school performance on the following primary indicators of progress:
- ISTEP+ English/language arts and mathematics tests at Grades 3-10
- ISTEP+ science tests and social studies tests at Grades 5,7, and 9
- Science and social students tests when implemented at Grades 4, 6, and 8
- Core 40 end-of-course tests
Click to view the accountability law (IC 20-31-8) and State Board rules (511 IAC 6.2-6) for more detailed information about how schools will be assigned to categories.
ACCREDITATION AS IT RELATES TO ACCOUNTABILITY
The accreditation component of the accountability system ensures that schools
are meeting minimum standards of educational programming and student achievement.
Schools can achieve accreditation under performance-based accreditation or
by implementing a
quality-focused approach to school improvement such as the criteria for the
Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award for Education or those criteria of
a national or regional accreditation agency that are approved by the Indiana
State Board of Education.
CHANGES TO THE ACCREDITATION PROCEDURE
The amended rules require some changes to the procedures for accreditation:
- Legal Standards - The accountability system emphasizes
school improvement, public reports, and accountability at all levels. To
meet this emphasis, the following legal standards have been added:
- Mandatory Annual Assessments
- Accurate and Timely Submission of All Reports
- Annual Performance Report
- School Improvement Planning - Requirements for continuous
school improvement planning have been changed.
- Department of Education will review the plan to assure that all the required components are present IF school uses the optional format approved by the State Board of Education or any other format that includes the components required by law.
- Department of Education review of the plan is not required IF school implements a quality-focused planning process such as the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award for Education, a national or regional accreditation agency that the State Board has approved, or a planning model the State Board has approved.
- Department of Education will verify formal participation in one of the State Board approved program listed above.
- Every Indiana school must submit a three-year school improvement plan revised annually.
- Student Achievement - Procedures for reviewing
information about student achievement have been changed.
- Accreditation will consider student achievement based on the category to which a school is assigned
- Information from a variety of assessment tools will be used to review student achievement and assign schools to categories
- When the assessment system is fully implemented, assessment
of student achievement will occur at Grades 3-12
FIRST STEPS TO GETTING ACCREDITED
Public Schools - It is a requirement for all public schools in the state of Indiana to be accredited, including Charter Schools. Public schools within larger districts will have legal standards and student achievement requirements reviewed in the year in which all schools in the district are being reviewed. Click here to view public school accreditation year assignments. These new schools will however; be required to submit a school improvement plan by June 30th of the first year they are open. They should also contact the Indiana Department of Education prior to opening to assure that they receive a school identification number and other contact information is correct. For more information regarding accreditation of newly established public schools, contact our office at 317-232-9060.
Non-public Schools - Non-public schools in the state of Indiana are not required to be accredited. However; they must register with the Indiana Department of Education and be assigned a non-public school identification number. They must also submit a pupil enrollment number each fall.
If a non-public school would like to be accredited, it will be required to comply with the same requirements as public schools in the state of Indiana. Consequences for probationary accreditation of non-public schools are different. Contact our office if your non-public school would like more information regarding accreditation in the state of Indiana.
To view a listing of non-public schools that are accredited, click here.
Kindergarten and Pre-kindergarten Schools - The state of Indiana does not accredit stand-alone kindergartens, preschools, or combinations thereof. If they are a part of a school that includes at least first grade or more, the kindergarten becomes part of the accredited school.
Pre-kindergarten, nursery school, daycare, etc. are licensed in the state of Indiana. Click here to view information regarding early childhood licensing and accreditation.
Post Secondary Schools - The Indiana Department of Education does
not accredit schools beyond grade twelve. For information on post high school
education that offer degrees, please contact the Commission
of Higher Education at 317-464-4400. Post high school education facilities
that offer professional trade licenses should contact the Proprietary
Education Commission at 800-227-5695.
CHARTER SCHOOL ACCREDITATION
A school that becomes a charter school under Indiana law (IC 20-24) is immediately considered accredited by the State Board of Education. (511 IAC 6.1-1-1) Due to the unique nature of charter schools, the required components of accreditation (School Improvement Planning, Legal Standards Compliance, and Student Achievement) are addressed in the following ways:
School Improvement Planning: According to Indiana law, a charter entered under IC 20-24-4 may be used as a charter school’s three-year strategic and continuous improvement plan. Click here to view IC 20-31-5-2 regarding charter school improvement planning.
Legal Standards Compliance: The charter school and the organizer are accountable to the sponsor for ensuring compliance with applicable federal and state laws; the charter; and the Constitution of the State of Indiana. Any legal standard required for accreditation that falls into one of the above three categories would be required for charter schools. Click here to view IC 20-24-8 regarding charter school powers and exemptions.
Student Achievement: Requirements for the charter include evidence
of improvement in assessment measures including ISTEP and Graduation Qualifying
Exam. Click
here to view IC 20-24-4-1 regarding requirements for charter. Although
category consequences outlined in IC 20-31-9 do not apply, charter schools
are required to submit an annual report to the Indiana Department of Education
for informational and research purposes. Furthermore, a sponsor may revoke
the charter at any time before the expiration of the term of the charter if
certain conditions are not met. Click
here to view IC 20-24-9 (Oversight and Revocation of Charters) for more
information regarding charter school accountability.
FREEWAY SCHOOL ACCREDITATION
A school that becomes a freeway school under Indiana law (IC 20-26-15-5) is immediately considered accredited by the State Board of Education (511 IAC 6.1-1-1). Due to the unique nature of freeway schools, the required components of accreditation (School Improvement Planning, Legal Standards Compliance, and Student Achievement) are addressed in the following ways:
School Improvement Planning: The contract that a freeway schools and the Indiana State Board of Education enter into serves as the school improvement plan for a freeway school. Click here to view IC 20-26-15-4 for contract designation. Click here to view IC 20-26-15-8 for contract provisions and requirements.
Legal Standards Compliance: Freeway schools may choose to suspend certain statutes and rules that are required for accreditation. Click here to view IC 20-26-15-5 for the listing of statutes and rules that freeway schools can suspend.
Student Achievement: Freeway schools can establish a locally adopted
assessment program to replace the assessment of student under the ISTEP program
as long and it meets certain criteria. Click here to view IC
20-26-15-6. The Indiana State Board of Education reviewed Freeway School
statutory requirements for ISTEP testing with legal and program staff of the
Department of Education. Board members concluded that Board Approval of ISTEP+
testing waivers is not in accord with the law. The situation today is different
from when the original Freeway law was passed. ISTEP is a criterion-referenced
test based on Indiana Academic Standards. Click here to view IC
20-32-5-6 , Scores and test results. Freeway schools are required to meet
minimum educational benefits standards in attendance, student achievement,
and graduation rate. Click here to view IC
20-26-15-7 for more details regarding freeway school accountability. Contact
the Division of School Accreditation Offices if you would like additional information
on the Freeway School Program.
