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I. Functional Aspects of TAAPS
A. The association serves private/ independent schools. These schools may be
non-profit, for profit, and/or religious background. It is not the intent of TAAPS to
accredit home schools, vocational or franchised schools.
B. Schools that seek to gain accreditation through the procedures established by
TAAPS should meet the requirements of the Standards and Policies as approved.
C. TAAPS enables schools that have the desire to maintain the integrity of the school by public announcement
of the philosophy and objectives of the educational program. The admissions criteria and the evaluation procedures
should be evident to obtain accreditation and demonstrate adherence to the TAAPS established standards and principals.
II. Eligibility for Membership
A. Any private school is eligible to seek accreditation by TAAPS provided the school
complies with the TAAPS Standards and Policies as applicable to the school's own philosophy and goals.
The school must comply with the rules of the State Board of Education.
B. The categories of grades 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 school's curriculum.
D. The school must have a minimum of three contiguous grades prior to applying.
Pre-Kindergarten and kindergarten must include first and second grades in order
to qualify for three continuous grades prior to applying for application.
E. Both elementary and secondary curriculum should be equivalent or above public
school levels in order to allow students to transfer into public or another private
school. Courses offered in the secondary school should be equivalent to the
suggested subjects by grade level as stated by TEA.
F. The secondary curriculum must include courses and credits required by the State
Board of Education for graduation.
G. The middle and high school grades are expected to have enrolled a sufficient
number of students to encourage academic competition and socialization.
H. Schools having early childhood programs may be included in the accreditation
process.
1. This program must have a qualified teacher, not necessarily having a degree
but adequate experience and training.
2. The early childhood program shall have a curriculum that will meet the
educational standard of TAAPS.
3. Early childhood programs are a half-day program (usually 3-4 hours). This is
not to be confused with daycare.
I. The combination of grades offered must be reasonable for the philosophy of the
school. (Ex. Montessori Schools)
J. The entire school, consisting of all grades currently offered, must be evaluated for
accreditation.
K. Newly formed schools may request an application in the second year of existence
and have an on-site evaluation in the third year.
L. A school which has multiple campus sites shall:
1. Serve a specific community.
2. Be treated as a separate school.
3. Stand on its own merit.
4. Apply and be awarded a visit as is appropriate.
5. Pay fees as appropriate in accordance to the rate in the Dues and Fees form.
III. Governing Structure of the Texas Alliance of Accredited Private Schools
A. TAAPS shall be governed by a Board of Directors selected from member schools.
B. The Board of Directors will consist of: President, Vice President, Secretary,
Treasurer, three Directors, Past President, and Executive Director. The Board
may have a minimum of seven and maximum of nine members. A quorum will
consist of four members.
C. The Executive Board will consist of the President, Vice President, Secretary and
Treasurer. The Executive Board shall have the authority to conduct business on
an emergency basis.
D. The Vice President will chair the Standards Committee and shall have two
members on this committee. The Vice President will also be the TEPSAC (Texas
Private School Association Commission) representative.
E. Duties of the TAAPS Board of Directors are to:
1. Coordinate the activities and operations of TAAPS in an effective and timely
manner.
2. Adopt and carry out the policies for the organization.
3. Assure each member school one vote at the annual meeting.
4. Maintain records and communications with membership as directed by the
President.
5. Work in accordance with the Vice President, Chairman of Standards
Committee. and approve the Standards Committee.
6. Secure and oversee the office of the Executive Director, insuring all reports
are distributed to the Board in a proper and timely manner. The Executive
Director is a salaried person familiar with TAAPS and its operation.
7. Review the Standards and Policies annually and make changes as necessary.
8. Coordinate the Annual Meeting and Conference. Inform the membership of
activities of TAAPS and changes to the Standards or within the association at
the Annual Meeting.
F. Duties of the Standards Committee:
1. The Vice President is the chairman of this committee.
2. This committee may have two members plus the chairman.
3. The Chairman/Vice President shall work directly with the Executive Director.
4. The chairman will work with the Executive Director in coordinating
accreditation appointments for the school and scheduling dates for the visits.
5. This committee shall review all application and documents received from all
schools applying to TAAPS.
6. The Standards Committee shall receive and evaluate the visiting member
teams' reports.
7. The chairman shall collaborate with the other members of the committee with
an agreed recommendation of Accreditation Status of schools visited.
8. Those recommendations and reviews will be presented to the Board of
Directors at the next meeting for approval.
9. The chairman will work with the Executive Director to provide and coordinate
written and consultative guidance services to a school and the visiting teams.
G. The Visiting Committee
1. The Visiting Committee is 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 one
visiting team per year.
3. The chairman of the team will assign sections of the work documents to each member
4. Team members will prepare a written report of the evaluations of the school.
The member will submit the report to the chairman of the visiting team
within five working days.
5. The Chairman will collate the report and send a copy to the Chairman of the
Standards Committee and to the TAAPS office.
6. Team members will submit itemized expenses and receipts to the TAAPS office for reimbursement.
7. The Executive Director will bill the school and reimburse the team members.
IV. Finance
A. Financial Management
1. The fiscal year of TAAPS shall be from January 1 through December 31.
The 990 income taxes and quarterly tax reports will be prepared by an
accountant, approved by the Board.
2. The report from the Executive Director will reflect the school year - Aug. 1
though July 31.
3. The duties of the Treasurer are to serve as custodian of TAAPS funds and act as comptroller.
4. Annual dues of the membership shall be the primary source of revenue for
the organization.
5. Each member school shall be expected to participate in the Annual Meeting
and Conference. The annual dues may include the registration fee for two
participants from each school.
6. Fees for the accreditation process will be assessed.
7. An annual budget shall be recommended by the Board to the membership
at the annual business meeting.
B. Association Fees
1. Annual dues are based on the population of the school. The rate schedule is
available through the office and the TAAPS website, www.taaps.org
2. Annual dues are payable in September of the current school year and are
considered late as of January 1.
3. A grace period will be extended to January 31.
4. Schools not having met their obligation of the yearly membership dues by
January 31 of the current school year will result in the school being removed
from their present accreditation status.
5. These schools will be omitted from the TAAPS Membership Directory and
removed from the TEPSAC Directory.
6. Those schools wishing to rejoin TAAPS will be required to reapply and pay a
reinstatement fee of $100.00 in addition to the regular membership dues for
the current year.
C. Accreditation Process Fees
1. Appropriated fees are payable upon submission of completed appropriate
self-studies and are non-refundable. This sets in motion the beginning of the
accreditation process (Rate schedule is available through the TAAPS office
(361) 552-1900 and the TAAPS website www.taaps.org
2. Expenses for each member's on-site visit will be submitted to the TAAPS office.
The school will be billed from the TAAPS office. The team expenses shall
include out-of-pocket expenses and other expenses incurred while on the visit.
3. The team members will be reimbursed from the TAAPS office.
V. Accreditation Procedures
TAAPS accreditation process consist of three steps
A. The Initial Application
The Initial Application will be reviewed by the Standards Committee and will
decide whether the school shall proceed with the Applicant Self-Study. The school shall
be notified of the decision by the TAAPS office.
B. Applicant (requires an evaluation visit)
After the completion of the Applicant Self-Study, a visit date will be set. The
team's report will be reviewed by the Standards Committee. The school will be
notified by the TAAPS office of the decision of the Standards Committee whether the
school shall proceed to the Accreditation Self-Study.
C. Accreditation (requires an evaluation visit)
The school shall complete the Accreditation Self-Study, etc. The same procedure
will follow as with the Applicant review by the Standards Committee. The Board
of Directors will approve the accreditation.
D. The school will be notified of their status.
E. Probationary schools are previously accredited schools that did not comply with
all/some of the accreditation standards as determined by the Annual Report or
an on-site evaluation.
F. The Appeal Process
Schools receiving an unfavorable recommendation may appeal:
1. The school shall submit pertinent information to the Standards Committee one
month prior to the appeals hearing.
2. The Standards Committee will review the information and render its
recommendation of the report and investigation to the Board of Directors.
3. The school may appeal directly to the Board of Directors for a hearing if relief is
not obtained from the Standards Committee. The decision of the Board of
Directors is final.
VI. Accreditation Status of Schools
A. Applicant Status
1. Completion of the applicant visit and acceptance by the Standards
Committee/Board of Directors is the first step to accreditation.
2. This is not to be confused with accredited status.
3. An Applicant approved school must meet all of the requirements to complete
the final step to accreditation within two calendar years.
B. Accreditation Status
1. Accredited schools have successfully completed the three step procedures as
required.
2. Accredited schools are allowed one vote at the annual meeting.
3. Accredited schools are allowed to use the TAAPS name and logo in
advertising.
4. Accredited school administrators or faculty members are expected to and may be
requested to serve on one visiting team per year.
5. Schools must maintain the annual dues.
6. Schools will submit an Annual Report by June 1st of each year. The Annual
Report forms will be sent to each school in March from the TAAPS office. A late fee will be assessed for reports sent
after June 1.
7. Schools having an on-site visit during the current year will not need to submit
an Annual Report.
VII. Reliability
A. Acceptance of the TAAPS policies, evaluation methods and decisions by educators and educational institutions have
been demonstrated by support and guidance of Mr. Gene Phillips, former TEA (Texas Education Agency), by Dr.
Jodie Stevens PHD., University of Houston and Dr. Ben Wholeben University of Texas El Paso and the founding
Board of Directors of TAAPS.
B. Regular review of the standards, policies and procedures are built into the
governing structure of TAAPS. The Board of Directors and the Standards
Committee have specific duties that assure the practice of this criterion.
VIII. 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, both quantitative and
qualitative of a school's compliance with accreditation standards.
B. TAAPS provides in its operating procedure against conflicts of interest in
rendering of its judgments and decisions by having no officer or committee
member in the evaluation of its own school's application for accreditation or
appeal process.