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I. Functional Aspects of TAAPS
A. The association serves private/independent schools.
1. TAAPS comprises elementary and secondary schools that desire
to promote and maintain high standards in academic, physical,
and ethical education programs.
2. Schools that seek to gain accreditation through the procedures
established by TAAPS meet the requirements of the principles
and standards as approved.
3. Schools have the desire to maintain the integrity of the
school by public announcement of: the philosophy and objectives
of the educational program, the admission criteria and the evaluation
procedures of students demonstrating the adherence to established
principles and standards.
II. Eligibility for Membership
A. Any private school is eligible to seek accreditation bv
TAAPS provided this school complies with the miles of the State
Board of Education as applicable to the school's own philosophy
and goals.
B. The categories of members are elementary and secondary
with seventh and eighth grades falling into either category according
to the philosophy of the school.
C. The TEKS as required by the State Board of Education will
be considered the basis of the schools curriculum.
D. Both elementarv and secondary curriculum should be equivalent
or above public school levels in order to allow students to transfer
into the public system.
E. The secondary curriculum must include courses required
by the State Board of Education for graduation.
F. The combination of grades offered must be reasonable for
the philosophy of the school and include grades Kindergarten
and above.
G. The school seeking accreditation must apply for membership
to TAAPS.
H. The entire school, consisting of all grades currently offered
must be evaluated for accreditation.
I. Newly formed schools may request applications in the second
year of existence and have an on-site evaluation in the third
year.
J. Additional grades must conform to TAAPS standards and the
evidence submitted to TAAPS for approval in the annual report.
A school that has multiple campus sites for accreditation
purposes shall
1. Serve a specific community.
2. Be treated as separate school.
3. Stand on its’ own merit.
4. Apply and be awarded a Visit as such is appropriate.
5. Pay fees as appropriate in accordance to the rate that is
available through the TAAPS office.
K. It is not the intent of TAAPS to accredit "home schools".
III. Organization
A. TAAPS shall be governed by a Board of Directors and elected
from member schools for three-year staggered terms.
B. In order to carry out its operations in a timely and effective
manner, the Board shall be responsible for:
1. Recommending an annual budget.
2. Receiving the reports and recommendations of the committees
needed to effectively carry out it's operations.
3. Appointing the Standards Committee and receiving the reports
and recommendations of the said committee.
4. Coordinating the activities of the organization.
5. Assuring one vote by each member school at the annual meeting.
6. Secure the services of an Executive Director whose duty shall
be:
a. To oversee the daily operations of the organization.
b. Maintain records and communication with the membership as
directed by the President.
c. Work in accordance with the Standards Committee and:
(1)Shall receive applications from schools applying for accreditation.
(2)Shall review the documentation required for accreditation.
(3)Shall assign the Visiting Team.
(4) Schedule, coordinate and participate in the Visits to the
schools.
(5) Shall receive and coordinate review procedures for annual
reports.
(6) Shall review the standards annually and recommend any changes
that would be appropriate to the Standards Committee.
(7) Shall provide and coordinate written and consultative guidance
to the Visiting Team.
(8) Shall report the recommendations of the Visiting Team to
the Standards Committee.
C. Officers and Governing Structure
1. The officers of TAAPS are defined as: President, Past-President,
Vice President, Secretary/Custodian of Records. Treasurer and
three (3) Directors.
2. The eight members of the Board of Directors serve as the
policy making body of the organization. They will be elected
from the accredited member schools for three year staggered terms.
3. To be eligible to serve as an officer of TAAPS, the person
must be a Director or Administrator of an accredited member school
and may be re-elected for one additional term in that position
but may serve in another office on the Board.
4. Duties of the Board of Directors include:
a. Adopting an annual budget.
b. Adopting policies for the operation of the organization.
c. Appointing the Standards Committee.
d. Coordinating the activities of the organization.
e. Receiving the reports of the Standards Committee.
f. Hearing any appeals to be presented.
g. Forwarding the report of the Standards Committee to the members
in attendance at the annual meeting.
5. The Executive Commmittee:
a. Consists of the Offices of the Board of Directors.
b. Shall have the authority to conduct business on an emergency
basis.
D. The Standards Committee
1. Shall be a Standing Committee appointed by the President.
2. Shall work directly with the Executive Director.
3. Shall review applications from schools applying for accreditation
4. Shall review the documents required for accreditation
5. Shall oversee the appointment of the Visiting Team.
6. Shall oversee the schedule and coordination of the visits
to applicant schools and those schools seeking continuing accreditation.
7. Shall review and coordinate review procedures for annual
reports.
8. Shall review the standards annually and recommend any changes
that would be appropriate.
9. Shall provide and coordinate written and consultative guidance
to the Visiting Team.
10. Shall review recommendations on the accredited status
of schools from the Visiting Team.
11. Shall approve the status of the school applying to TAAPS.
12. Shall report the status of each school to the Board of
Directors for acceptance at regularly scheduled meetings.
E. The Visiting Committee
1. The Visiting Committee is an Ad Hoc Committee composed
of persons with professional educational backgrounds proper for
the assignment and having no conflict of interest with the assignment.
2. Accredited member school Administrators may be asked to
serve on two Visiting Teams per year.
IV. Finance
A. Financial Management
1. The fiscal year of TAAPS shall begin on January 1 and end
on December 31.
2. Dues for membership shall be the primary source of revenue
for the organization.
3. Each member school shall be assessed a late fee levied
by the Board of Directors for the Annual Conference. This may
include staff registration for the conference.
4. A fee for the Accreditation Process will be assessed.
5. An annual budget shall be recommended by the Board and
adopted at the annual business meeting in February by the membership.
6. The duties of the Treasurer of the Board are to serve as
custodian of all TAAPS funds and act as a comptroller of the
annual budget.
7. The Board may approve the hiring of an Executive Director
to do the following:
a. Send statements for the collection of dues and fees.
b. Prepare a financial statement for each formal meeting of TAAPS.
B. Association Fees
1. Annual Dues for membership are:
a. Based on the population of the school. (rate schedule is
available through the office )
b. Payable January 1 and delinquent as March 1.
(1) A grace period will be extended to March 31. Schools not
having met their obligation of the yearly membership dues by
March 31 of the current year, will result in the school being
dropped from their present status and will be omitted from the
Private School Directory.
(2) Those schools wishing to rejoin TAAPS will be required to
reapply and pay a reinstatement fee of $100.00 in addition to
their regular membership dues for the current year.
c. Based on the two categories of membership, which include;
(1) Applicant membership are those schools having completed
the Applicant process and attained Applicant Status. Affiliation
with TAAPS in this status may be enjoyed for a maximum period
of five years. If the school does not, by that time, succeed
in meeting the standards for accredited membership in TAAPS,
it must be removed from this category. Removal does not preclude
the possibility that the school may be examined later, but it
may not be under those circumstances be readmitted to the status
of Accredited Candidacy.
(2) Accredited membership are schools having successfully
completed the accreditation procedures as required by TAAPS Standards.
Accredited member schools are;
Allowed one vote at the annual meeting.
May use the TAAPS name and logo in advertising.
May be requested to serve on the Visiting Committee.
2. Accreditation Process Fees
Appropriate fees are payable upon submission of completed application
and is non-returnable. This sets in motion the accreditation
process. (Rate schedule is available through the TAAPS office.)
a. Applicant On-Site of a school.
b. Accreditation On-Site Visit of a school.
c. Re-Visit of a school - An On-Site is required.
d. Re-Accreditation of a school to continue the process. An On-Site
Visit is required.
3. Accreditation process Visiting Team expenses are paid by
the school and include such reasonable expenses as travel, meals,
lodging out of pocket expenses and per diem. (Rate schedule is
available through the TAAPS office.)
V. Accreditation Procedures
A. TAAPS defines accreditation status and procedures for Applicant
Accredited and Probationary schools.
1. Applicant Schools include those schools that desire accreditation:
a. Ordered the TAAPS documents.
b. Requested an On-Site Applicant Visit and have paid the Applicant
Process Fee.
c. If, after the On-Site Visit, the Standards Committee finds
the school worthy, Applicant Status will be granted.
(1) This status is not to be confused with full Accredited
membership in the association.
(2) An Applicant Schools does not have a vote at the annual meeting.
(3) An Applicant School must meet all requirements within five
calendar years and be accredited or withdraw from the application
process for one full year.
(4) The reapplication for membership must be de nova.
(5)Applicant schools applying for initial accreditation are required
to:
(a) Conduct a self-study, using criteria from TAAPS Evaluation
Instrument.
(b) Submit an application authorized by the Chief Executive Officer
or chairman of the school board requesting accreditation.
(c) Invite a visiting committee at the school's expenses to review
the operation of the school in term of the standards and the
self-study.
2. Accredited Schools i.e. those schools that:
a. Will conduct a self-study and be revisited as the term
of accreditation expires.
b. Have met all the requirements for accreditation.
c. Accreditation may be granted for a period of one to five years.
3. Probationary Accredited Schools are previously accredited
schools that did not comply with all accreditation standards
as determined by the last annual report or of the On-site Evaluation.
B. The Visiting Team is required to:
1. Meet with the school administration to review evaluation
of the Evaluation Instrument.
2. Conduct the On-Site Visit.
3. Discuss with the school administration the Visiting Team's
initial findings from the On-Site Visit prior to departure.
4. Prepare a written report of the evaluation.
5. Submit the report to the Standards Committee within sixty
days of the visit.
6. Submit itemized expenses and receipts to the Executive
Director. The Executive Director will then bill the school for
the complete Visiting Team
C. The Standards Committee will:
1. Review the reports, commendations and recommendations of
all the On-Site Visiting Teams.
2. Recommend Accreditation with Annual Reports.
3. Recommend Probationary Accreditation showing cause and
requiring corrective action.
4. Recommend termination of accredited school with cause.
5. Recommend denial of Applicant schools with cause.
D. The Appeal Process
A school receiving an unfavorable recommendation may appeal by;
1. Expecting a fair hearing guided by a calendar that provides
timely sequence of events with at least ten working days between
notification and school response.
2. Submitting pertinent information to the Standards Committee
one month prior to the appeals hearing.
3. Asking the Standards Committee to review the information
and render its decision in a report to the Board of Directors.
4. Appeal to the Board of Directors if relief is not obtained
from the Standards Committee. The decision of the Board of Directors
is final.
VI. Reliability
A. Acceptance of TAAPS policies, evaluation methods and decisions
by educators and educational institutions has been demonstrated
by the number of preliminary applications received. Support and
guidance were provided by Gene Phillips, former TEA Accreditation
Officer. Jody Stevens, Ph.D., University of Houston: Brent Edward
Wholeben, Ph.D., University of Texas at El Paso; and the TAAPS
founding Board of Directors.
B. Regular review of its standards, policies and procedures
are built into the governing structure of TAAPS. The Board of
Directors and Standards Committee have specific duties that assure
the practice of this criterion.
C. Composition of TAAPS Board of Directors reflects the interest
of the community directly affected by the scope of its accreditation.
The Board of Directors are elected from the accredited membership
and policy reviews are presented to the membership at the annual
meeting.
VII. Autonomy
A. TAAPS performs no function that would be inconsistent with
formation of an independent judgment of the quality of a school.
TAAPS expects members of the Visiting Team to make autonomous
decisions on the quantitative and qualitative evaluation of a
school's compliance with accreditation standards.
B. TAAPS provides in its operating procedures against conflicts
of interest in rendering of its judgments and decisions by having
no officer or committee member serve in the evaluation of its
own school's application for accreditation or appeal process.
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Standards for Accreditation