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A school may
be accredited by meeting the following criteria:
(1) Comply
with the required legal standards.
(2) Comply
with the school improvement plan requirements either
by completing a continuous and strategic school improvement and achievement
plan that meets the requirements, or by implementing a quality-focused
approach to strategic and continuous school improvement, such as the criteria
for the Malcolm
Baldrige National Quality Award for Education
or the criteria for a national or regional
accrediting agency approved by the state board.
(3) Meet
school improvement and
performance requirements
under the Indiana accountability system.
The state
board shall accord each school one of the following:
Full
accreditation status
Provisional
accreditation status
Probationary
accreditation status
A school must
meet the following accreditation requirements to be accorded full
accreditation status:
(1) Compliance
with all legal standards
(2) School
Improvement Plan
(3) Assignment
to one of the following categories
of school improvement and
performance:
(A) Exemplary.
(B) Commendable.
(C) Academic
progress.
Both the school
and the Indiana Department of Education have responsibilities to assure
that all accreditation requirements have been met.
(1) Legal
Standards
Each school
and school corporation provides to the department, and other appropriate
state agencies, documentation verifying compliance with the legal
standards. The department, under procedures approved by the board,
reviews the documentation to determine if the school has met all legal
standards.
(2) School
Improvement Plan
The school
provides the department with a copy of its most recently revised strategic
and continuous school improvement and achievement plan. The department
determines if the plan meets one (1) of the following requirements:
(a) The
plan was developed as part of a quality focused school improvement process,
such as the criteria for the Malcolm
Baldrige National Quality Award for Education
or for a national or regional accreditation agency that
is approved by the state board.
(b) The
plan was developed as part of a school improvement process other than
a process described above and meets the requirements of 511
IAC 6.2-3.
(3) Student
Achievement
The school
must meet improvement and
performance requirements
under the Indiana accountability system.
If a school
does not meet all of the accreditation requirements, the department conducts
a preliminary visitation, at which time the school may provide additional
information about either compliance with legal standards and/or school improvement
and performance.
If information
provided at the preliminary visitation does not confirm that the school
meets the accreditation requirements, the department appoints a review panel
to conduct an on-site review of the school.
Composition
of the On-site Review Panel
The department
selects the review panel members from a pool of trained individuals. Each
review panel shall consist of at least three individuals, including:
(1) the
chair of the panel, who:
(A) has
served as a member of an on-site review panel;
(B) has
been trained to serve as chair of the panel; and
(C) may
be a staff member of the department
(2) one
classroom teacher; and
(3) one
individual who is not a classroom teacher.
Duties
of the On-site Review Panel
During its
on-site evaluation of a school, the review panel reviews:
(1) teaching
practices;
(2) administrative
instructional leadership;
(3) parental
and community involvement;
(4) implementation
of the ISTEP+ remediation program;
(5) the
homework policy;
(6) curricular
focus on academic standards and instructional practices
that meet the needs of all students;
(7) the
professional development program;
(8) school
climate;
(9) monitoring
of student progress;
(10) corporation
level and governing body support; and
(11) any
other policy or practice necessary for the panel to determine if the school
meets full accreditation status criteria.
The review
process must include the following strategies for gathering information
about educational programming:
(1) reviewing
documents;
(2) observing
students in the learning environment; and
(3) interviewing
teachers, administrators, school board members, parents, students, and
community representatives.
The review
panel verifies compliance with the legal standards.
Full Accreditation
If the department
determines that a school meets all accreditation requirements, the state
board accords the school full accreditation status and awards the school
a certificate of full accreditation status.
The department
shall review a fully accredited school no later than three (3) years after
the state board's determination of its accreditation status.
Upon receipt
of the review panel's recommendation, which must include analysis of strengths
and weaknesses and justification for the recommendation, the state board
makes one of the following determinations as to the accreditation status
of the school:
Full
accreditation status, if the school meets all requirements for accreditation,
with the next review being conducted three (3) years after the state board's
determination.
Provisional
accreditation status, if the school meets the requirements for accreditation
and the school is placed in the academic watch (priority) category
of school improvement and
performance, with review
conducted at least annually after the state board's determination of provisional
accreditation.
Provisional
accreditation status, with review conducted at least annually after
the state board's determination of provisional accreditation status, if
both of the following are determined:
(A) The
school meets the requirements for accreditation.
(B) The
school is in the first or second year after initial placement in the
academic probation (high priority) category
of school improvement
and performance.
Probationary
accreditation status, with review conducted at least annually after
the state board's determination of probationary accreditation status,
if, in the third year or subsequent year after initial placement in the
academic probation (high priority) category
of school improvement and
performance, the school
remains in the academic probation (high priority) category
of school improvement and
performance.
If a school
is accorded provisional accreditation status or probation accreditation
status for failure to comply with legal standards, the state board and
department notes that the status was accorded for a reason other than
school performance.
Right of
Appeal
If a school
is accorded probationary accreditation status, the local school board
may appeal that determination to the state board.
Review of
a Fully Accredited School
The department
reviews a school that has been awarded full accreditation status if the
department verifies, prior to the school's next review date, that the school
is not in substantial compliance with the legal
standards for accreditation and/or the school has been placed in either
academic watch (priority) or academic probation (high priority) category
of school improvement and
performance.
The state
board revokes the accreditation status of a nonpublic school or a charter
school if, in the fifth year after initial placement in the academic probation
(high priority) category
of school improvement and performance,
the school remains in the academic probation (high priority) category of school improvement
and performance. If the accreditation
status of a nonpublic school is revoked, the school may not seek accreditation
until the school year in which the school normally would have been reviewed
had the school been accorded full accreditation status
rather than probationary accreditation status.
When schools
enrolling at least ninety-five percent (95%) of the students within a school
corporation achieve full accreditation status, the state board accords the
school corporation full accreditation status
and awards the school corporation a certificate of full accreditation status.
The state board shall accord probationary accreditation
status to a school corporation with one or more probationary schools
that fail to make progress and/or to achieve full accreditation status at
the end of three years.
Updated:
July 3, 2007
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