RELATES TO:
KRS
156.160
NECESSITY, FUNCTION, AND CONFORMITY:
KRS
156.160 requires the State Board for
Elementary and Secondary Education to adopt rules and administrative
regulations relating to grading, classifying, and accrediting all common
schools, and further allows private, parochial, and church schools to
voluntarily comply with accreditation standards and to be so certified by the
state board. This administrative regulation implements this duty by prescribing
general standards to be used in evaluation of public elementary, middle and
secondary schools, and of those nonpublic schools voluntarily seeking an
accreditation evaluation.
Section 1.
Pursuant to the authority vested in the State Board for Elementary and
Secondary Education by
KRS
156.070 and
156.160,
the Kentucky Standards for Accrediting Elementary, Middle and Secondary
Schools, as amended on March 8, 1989, are presented herewith for filing with
the Legislative Research Commission, and incorporated by reference.
Section 2. Pursuant to the authority vested
in the State Board for Elementary and Secondary Education by
KRS
156.160(2), nonpublic
schools which voluntarily request accreditation shall be in compliance with all
standards and indicators included in the Kentucky Standards for Accrediting
Elementary, Middle and Secondary Schools limited to curriculum, textbooks, and
staff certification. Schools shall address all standards and indicators except
those marked "N/A" (not applicable). These Voluntary Nonpublic School
Accreditation Standards, July, 1989, are presented herewith for filing with the
Legislative Research Commission and incorporated herein by reference.
Section 3. The procedures for the voluntary
accreditation of individual nonpublic schools or related groups of such schools
under common management and control shall be as follows:
(1) All nonpublic schools or groups of
schools which voluntarily request accreditation shall notify the Division of
Accreditation by letter of their intentions.
(2) An Instructional Services Advisor
(I.S.A.) shall be assigned to a school and shall be the liaison between the
school and the Department of Education. The I.S.A. shall provide the school
with the department's self-study guide and provide technical assistance as
needed.
(3) An on-site team will
visit each school to validate the school's self-study. This team shall be
appointed by the Department of Education and shall consist of at least three
(3) persons - an I.S.A., a local nonpublic school official and another
Department of Education staff member.
(4) An additional team member shall be
appointed for each additional five (5) faculty members beyond fifteen
(15).
(5) A report shall be
generated by the on-site team and a copy presented to the school or related
group of schools. The school or related group of schools shall prepare a three
(3) year plan of action to correct all noncompliance. The plan shall be
monitored annually to assure that the plan of action is being
implemented.
(6) The school or
related group of schools shall then be placed on a five (5) year accreditation
cycle. The first year shall be the self-study and the on-site visit followed by
a three (3) year plan of action, and the last year shall be devoted to updating
the self-study.
(7) State funds
shall not be used for the accreditation of nonpublic schools. Such schools
shall reimburse the Department of Education the total costs of accreditation
certification, including necessary follow-up, either from their own funds or
from any appropriate federal grants.
Section 4. Any school or institution whose
primary mission is to serve a student clientele (K-12) with unique needs that
are outside the generally accepted operational range of students who attend
public schools shall be classified and accredited under the category of Special
School Accreditation.
Section 5. A
copy of all documents incorporated in this administrative regulation may be
copied, inspected, and obtained from the Office of Research and Planning,
Department of Education, Third Floor, Capital Plaza Tower, Frankfort, 8 a.m. -
4:30 p.m., Monday-Friday.