Only accredited private schools are eligible for the federal Parental Choice Tax Credit program, a voucher-like government subsidy that parents can use to cover tuition.
However, schools only need to provide the name of their accreditor. Beyond that, there is no verification and any accreditor can be approved.
The approved schools include Goodland Academy, a middle school in Hugo that was closed for two years but retained its accreditation and reopened in February with five students, all of whom received a tax credit.
A preschool at the Oklahoma City Zoo also received state approval and accreditation from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, which evaluated the zoo on standards focused on animal welfare and veterinary care.
Candice Rennels, a spokeswoman for the Oklahoma City Zoo, said accreditation by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums is rigorous and includes an educational component. Tuition is $345 a week – about $14,000 a year.
As of Aug. 8, state regulators had approved 175 private schools for the Parental Choice Tax Credit program. Families of all income levels whose children attend these schools can claim $5,000 to $7,500 per student per year, but preference is given to those earning $150,000 or less. In total, these schools received accreditation from 19 different organizations, each with different standards and little oversight.
More: Private school tuition fees have risen sharply since Oklahoma introduced the tax credit
“Not all accreditors are the same,” said Chris Belyeu, executive director of the Oklahoma Private School Accrediting Council.
Since 1995, the Oklahoma Board of Education has worked with the Oklahoma Private School Accrediting Council to review private school accrediting agencies. Schools that accept students through the Lindsey Nicole Henry Scholarship program, a voucher program for students with disabilities, must be accredited by the Board of Education or another of 15 organizations approved by the council.
To obtain Council approval, members review standards and participate in on-site visits with accreditation bodies.
But schools participating in the Parental Choice Tax Credit program are not limited to the list of vetted accreditors. This also opens up the possibility of less rigorous accreditation or pay-to-play systems – what Belyeu calls shady accreditors.
What you should know about Oklahoma’s Parental Choice Tax Credit
Lawmakers passed the Parental Choice Tax Credit in 2023, completing a major push to expand the state’s school choice programs. The program is expected to cost $150 million this year and expand to $250 million by 2026.
In drafting the program rules, the Oklahoma Tax Commission proposed that schools be accredited by the Board of Education or a board-approved association, but the proposal met with resistance.
In response, a national organization called Yes Every Kid said the required board approval was too restrictive.
“A private school in Oklahoma does not have to be accredited by the state and may apply for accreditation from any accrediting association,” they wrote.
More: Nearly $2 million in school choice tax credits were spent on parents’ debt instead of
Relying on the panel’s list would unnecessarily restrict a law that generally applies to private schools that parents send their children to, the organization said in an email. Yes Every Kid advocates for state policies that direct public money to private schools and is funded by billionaire industrialist Charles Koch.
“I see the OTC and the Department of Education taking away parents’ freedom of choice by restricting the option of private accredited schools to public educational institutions,” wrote one parent in another comment. “This defeats the purpose of this law, is underhanded and tyrannical.”
EdChoice, a lobbying organization for charter schools and voucher programs, wanted at least a minimal level of review. It proposed changing the rules to include accreditors recognized by a state, regional or national accrediting body.
Ultimately, the tax commission went with language in the bill and accepted accreditation from any organization. Emily Haxton, a spokeswoman for the commission, said it does not determine whether a private school has met accreditation standards.
What are other states doing to verify the accreditation of private schools?
Verification of accrediting bodies in school choice programs varies across the country.
Some states, such as Iowa and West Virginia, maintain lists of 5 to 10 approved accrediting bodies. Cognia and the Association of Christian Schools International regularly appear on these lists.
Others include more accrediting bodies. Arkansas, for example, approves 22 for its school choice program, comparable to the Oklahoma Private School Accreditation Council’s list used for Oklahoma’s Lindsey Nicole Henry scholarship.
In contrast, the North Carolina Department of Non-Public Education has no control over the accrediting bodies. The department’s sole responsibility is to maintain records of registered private and home schools in the state.
In Utah and Arizona, no accreditation is required at all.
What is required for school accreditation in Oklahoma?
Oklahoma’s tax credit sparked a rush of private schools seeking accreditation, and some completed it in a shorter-than-usual timeframe. For some, that meant making quick improvements, such as adopting a curriculum or extending the school calendar, to meet the accrediting agency’s standards.
Accreditation generally means that a school has demonstrated educational quality and complies with government regulations. Private accreditation bodies tend to focus on educational quality. Accreditation bodies run by religious organizations also look to see whether schools follow certain religious teachings or values.
The Oklahoma Department of Education is primarily responsible for monitoring compliance with state regulations.
For this reason, some private schools seek accreditation from both the state and another agency. One example is Cristo Rey Oklahoma City Catholic High School, which is accredited by the Oklahoma Department of Education and Cognia.
Cognia completed its review of Cristo Rey last year. The process takes four to five years, includes two official site visits and an annual fee of $1,200. The Department of Education review took less than a year, included two meetings with a regional accreditation officer and was free.
Kelsey Herman, director of Cristo Rey, said the key difference is Cognia’s focus on continuous improvement.
Cognia is the largest educational accreditor in the world, serving 40,000 public and private schools around the world. Cognia also operates three of six regional accreditation agencies in the United States.
Adhering to regional standards makes it easier for students moving to another state to transfer to another high school, helps them qualify for certain college scholarships and is the only path for students joining the military after high school, said Mark Elgart, president and CEO of Cognia.
“There are schools that use the term (accredited) very loosely,” Elgart said. “I would advise parents to check and do research to make sure that the accreditation is actually regularly checking the quality of the school.”
Signs that an accreditation is not of high quality, according to industry experts, include the ability to speed up the process, webcam verification instead of on-site visits, and renewal periods of more than five to seven years.
Josh Cowen, a professor of education policy at Michigan State University and author of a book on taxpayer-funded school choice programs, said a lack of accreditation is almost certain to result in a poor-quality school. But accreditation alone is no guarantee of a high-quality school.
“The hurdle for accreditation is very low for these private schools,” he said.
That’s why they chose Cognia when looking for rigorous accreditation, said Jim Johnson, president of the Lawton Academy of Arts and Science.
He said it took six months to get accreditation, which included several months of collecting and preparing data and then “a week of hell” for the accreditation visit. The school posts its entire accreditation report and testing data online, which is unusual for private schools.
“You can be the best in the world, but until someone else tells someone else you’re the best in the world, nobody knows,” Johnson said.
Ron Titus, head of the SNU Lab School, said accreditation is getting easier as more accrediting agencies emerge to speed up the process for programs like Oklahoma’s parent tax credit. The SNU Lab School has been accredited by the Department of Education for 51 years and just received accreditation from the Association of Christian Schools International.
He suggested that parents should do a little more research when a school advertises its accreditation. They should ask schools how long they have been accredited, he said.
Belyeu of the Oklahoma Private School Accrediting Council said school choice programs like the tax credit give parents choices but also bring a lot of responsibility.
“Any school can say they’re doing a great job,” he said. “I would look at their external validation, and that’s primarily accreditation.”
Oklahoma Watch, at oklahomawatch.orgis a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that covers public policy issues.
