Article I. Eligibility for Membership and Affiliate Membership
A. Any Texas Christian preschool, elementary, middle, or high school, or system of schools
is eligible to seek accreditation by ACTABS. The combination of grades offered must be
contiguous and consistent with the philosophy of the school.
1. Addendum 1.A
B. Types of membership:
1. Regular Membership- A Christian school seeking accreditation and membership
must maintain one or more of the following:
a. Affiliation with a church which is affiliated with the Baptist General
Convention of Texas
b. Affiliation with a church which is affiliated with the Southern Baptist
Convention
c. Affiliation with a local association of churches affiliated with the Baptist
General Convention of Texas
d. Affiliation directly with the Baptist General Convention of Texas.**
2. Affiliate Membership- A Christian school not meeting the membership
requirements of I.B.a (above) may become accredited and an affiliate member of
ACTABS provided it meets all other standards. An affiliate member pays dues,
may attend ACTABS meetings, has advisory privileges, but does not have voting
rights.
C. Any school seeking accreditation must be a member in good standing of the Texas
Association of Baptist Schools.
D. The entire school, consisting of all grades currently offered (Preschool-12), must be
evaluated for accreditation initially, and all grades must have been operating successfully
for at least one year prior to the site visit. If an accredited school adds grades, the new
grades will remain unaccredited until a request by the school is made for a team visit and
approval by a majority vote of ACTABS. The accreditation of the rest of the school will
remain in effect while the new grade(s) undergoes the accreditation process.**
E. Accreditation visits may take place as early as April or May at the conclusion of the 1st
year.
F. School Systems: Systems of schools will be accredited as a unit, and any portion of the
system that fails the accreditation process will cause the system to remain unaccredited.
The entire system, consisting of all grades at all campuses currently offered (K-12, with
preschool optional) must be evaluated for accreditation initially, and all grades at each
campus must have been operating successfully for at least one year prior to the site visit.
If an accredited system adds additional grades or campuses, the new grade(s)/campus
must be operated successfully for a minimum of one (1) year. The new grade(s)/campus
will remain unaccredited until a request is made by the school for a team visit and
approval by a majority vote of ACTABS. The accreditation of the rest of the system will
remain in effect while the new grade(s)/campus is undergoing the accreditation
process.**
G. Eligibility Maintenance: To maintain eligibility for membership, an accredited school
must:
1. Appoint two commissioners
2. At least two staff members from an accredited school must have completed the
ACTABS training session in preparation for service as accrediting members
3. Schools with new head administrators or new facilities should be visited by
previous accreditation chair or Executive Director within one year
4. Submit evidence to the visiting team chair that any deficiencies are being
addressed within the stated time on the report. The chair of the visiting team will
make a report on correction of deficiencies to the chair of the standard committee
5. Undergo an interim visit at the fifth year unless significant deficiencies need to be
addressed then the school should have a 2-3 year visit to make sure deficiencies
have been corrected
6. Undergo a full accreditation visit every ten years
7. School commissions are expects to attend the biannual TABS/ACTABS meetings
8. Consistent absence from ACTABS and TABS meetings and/or consistent
violations of the standards will jeopardize accreditation of the school**
is eligible to seek accreditation by ACTABS. The combination of grades offered must be
contiguous and consistent with the philosophy of the school.
1. Addendum 1.A
B. Types of membership:
1. Regular Membership- A Christian school seeking accreditation and membership
must maintain one or more of the following:
a. Affiliation with a church which is affiliated with the Baptist General
Convention of Texas
b. Affiliation with a church which is affiliated with the Southern Baptist
Convention
c. Affiliation with a local association of churches affiliated with the Baptist
General Convention of Texas
d. Affiliation directly with the Baptist General Convention of Texas.**
2. Affiliate Membership- A Christian school not meeting the membership
requirements of I.B.a (above) may become accredited and an affiliate member of
ACTABS provided it meets all other standards. An affiliate member pays dues,
may attend ACTABS meetings, has advisory privileges, but does not have voting
rights.
C. Any school seeking accreditation must be a member in good standing of the Texas
Association of Baptist Schools.
D. The entire school, consisting of all grades currently offered (Preschool-12), must be
evaluated for accreditation initially, and all grades must have been operating successfully
for at least one year prior to the site visit. If an accredited school adds grades, the new
grades will remain unaccredited until a request by the school is made for a team visit and
approval by a majority vote of ACTABS. The accreditation of the rest of the school will
remain in effect while the new grade(s) undergoes the accreditation process.**
E. Accreditation visits may take place as early as April or May at the conclusion of the 1st
year.
F. School Systems: Systems of schools will be accredited as a unit, and any portion of the
system that fails the accreditation process will cause the system to remain unaccredited.
The entire system, consisting of all grades at all campuses currently offered (K-12, with
preschool optional) must be evaluated for accreditation initially, and all grades at each
campus must have been operating successfully for at least one year prior to the site visit.
If an accredited system adds additional grades or campuses, the new grade(s)/campus
must be operated successfully for a minimum of one (1) year. The new grade(s)/campus
will remain unaccredited until a request is made by the school for a team visit and
approval by a majority vote of ACTABS. The accreditation of the rest of the system will
remain in effect while the new grade(s)/campus is undergoing the accreditation
process.**
G. Eligibility Maintenance: To maintain eligibility for membership, an accredited school
must:
1. Appoint two commissioners
2. At least two staff members from an accredited school must have completed the
ACTABS training session in preparation for service as accrediting members
3. Schools with new head administrators or new facilities should be visited by
previous accreditation chair or Executive Director within one year
4. Submit evidence to the visiting team chair that any deficiencies are being
addressed within the stated time on the report. The chair of the visiting team will
make a report on correction of deficiencies to the chair of the standard committee
5. Undergo an interim visit at the fifth year unless significant deficiencies need to be
addressed then the school should have a 2-3 year visit to make sure deficiencies
have been corrected
6. Undergo a full accreditation visit every ten years
7. School commissions are expects to attend the biannual TABS/ACTABS meetings
8. Consistent absence from ACTABS and TABS meetings and/or consistent
violations of the standards will jeopardize accreditation of the school**