Correspondence Schools FAQ
1. Can I used the final report from the correspondence school my child is enrolled in
as evidence of progress for the school year?
The rules do allow a parent to use the final report from a correspondence school as evidence that the child has made academic progress for that year -- but the correspondence school must be a member of an accrediting association recognized by the federal department of education and accredited for elementary and secondary education.
NICHE has compiled a list of accredited correspondence schools whose final report should be accepted by the Department of Education and the school district. This list is neither guaranteed nor exhaustive, but is provided as a tool to assist you. Parents using correspondence school reports as evidence of annual educational progress bear the responsibility of confirming that the school they use is appropriately accredited and has maintained this accreditation while the student was enrolled.
A Beka Academy is accredited by FACCS, SACS CASI, and CITA.
Alpha Omega Academy is accredited by CITA and NCA CASI.
American School (Lansing, IL) is accredited by NCA CASI and CITA.
Basic Christian Education Academy (Greenville, OH) is accredited by NAPS.
Bridgeway Christian Academy (Alpharetta, GA) is accredited by SACS CASI.
Calvert Education Services (Hunt Valley, MD) is accredited by CITA.
Catholic Schools K12 (Coral Springs, FL) is accredited by SACS CASI. [Catholic]
Christian Liberty Academy [CLASS] (Arlington Heights, IL) is accredited by NAPS.
Clonlara School (Ann Arbor, MI) is accredited by CITA and NCA CASI.
Griggs University High School Online (Silver Spring, MD) is accredited by SACS [Seventh-day Adventist]
Heritage Homeschool Academy (Overland Park, KS) is accredited by NAPS.
Home Study International (Silver Springs, MD) is accredited by SACS and CITA. [Seventh-day Adventist].
Indiana University High School (Bloomington, IN) is accredited by CITA and NCA CASI.
Keystone National High School (Bloomsburg, PA) is accredited by Northwest Association of Schools & Colleges [NASC].
Kolbe Academy (Napa, CA) is accredited by National Association of Private and Catholic Schools.
Laurel Springs School (Ojai, CA) is accredited by WASC.
Liberty University Online Academy (Lynchburg, VA) is accredited by SACS CASI.
Lighthouse Christian Academy (Bloomington, IN) is on the Iowa Department of Education’s list.
[NICHE could not confirm their accreditation by an outside force.]
Mother of Divine Grace School (Ojai, CA} is accredited by WASC. [Catholic]
North Dakota Center for Distance Education (Fargo, ND) is accredited by NCA CASI.
NorthStar Academy (Colorado Springs, CO) is accredited by NCA CASI and CITA.
Oak Meadow School (Brattleboro, VT) is accredited by CITA.
Penn Foster (Scraton, PA) is accredited by CSS-MSA and DETC
Seton Home Study School (Front Royal, VA) is accredited by CITA and SACS CASI [Catholic].
University of Arizona (Tuscon, AZ) is accredited by NCA CASI.
University of Missouri-Columbia High School (Columbia, MO) is accredited by NCA CASI.
University of Nebraska (Lincoln, NE) is accredited by NCA CASI.
[Accredited according to their website only. NICHE could not confirm by an outside source.]
University of Oklahoma High School (Norman, OK) is accredited by CITA and NCA CASI.
Western Christian Academy (Prather, CA) is accredited by NCA CASI.
Use great care and discernment as you determine if enrolling your child in a correspondence school is the best possible alternative.
- Decide whether you and your child can commit to all of the correspondence school’s requirements, including costs, curriculum choices, and timelines for completion.
- Verify that the correspondence school’s worldview is compatible with your own.
- Certify, each year you use the correspondence school for annual assessment purposes,
- that the school is appropriately accredited and obtain printed verification of this fact.
- Understand that utilizing end-of-year reports from accredited correspondence schools for competent private instruction annual assessment purposes does not automatically ensure that credits earned through an accredited correspondence school can be transferred to a public school, if you should ever desire to do so.
2. Where do I send a copy of my child's end-of-year correspondence school report?
A copy of the report should be
sent to your local school district by June 30. For the address of your
local school district, check in the phone book or on the Department of Education's public school directory available on its website.
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