Ohio Catholic School Accrediting Association

Tuesday, June 9, 2026

Membership

Membership Availability

Membership in the association is available to any Catholic school in Ohio that is recognized by the local bishop.

The school must participate in the six-year cycle of accreditation and remain in good standing by vote of the OCSAA Commission. In addition, a school renews membership each year by remitting the annual membership fee.

“Catholic education aims not only to communicate fact but also to transmit a coherent, comprehensive vision of life...”

Pope St. John Paul II

A school's improvement plan is developed and implemented every six years. Schools are expected to engage in continuous improvement based on best practices.

Accreditation Process

Categories of Membership:

Full membership

Full membership shall be granted to any member school that attains full accreditation status. The member school retains full membership as long as the school maintains full accreditation.

Associate membership

Associate membership shall be granted to any member school that still needs to attain Full Accreditation status through the six-year accreditation cycle.

What Membership Means

Membership in OCSAA signifies that the school has engaged in a rigorous internal preparation and an extensive review by a team of outside educators. A second team of educators review the school’s work and assures that the educational program reflects high quality standards.

A school accredited by OCSAA exemplifies an ongoing commitment to improve outcomes for all learners within the school community.

Our member school communities – teachers and parents – are deeply committed to the growth of student learning. Continuous improvement is about the learner. Our teachers are committed to employing the best instructional practices by regularly enhancing their skills.

OCSAA accredited schools demonstrate that students are engaged in learning as active participants. OCSAA schools demonstrate growth in student learning centered around knowledge and skill acquisition. In addition, as Catholic schools, OCSAA members accompany students on a shared journey of growing in our faith.

Find a School

Annual Accreditation Schedule with Ohio Department of Education

ANNUAL VERIFICATION OF STANDARDS (AVS)

Each OCSAA member school shall electronically update the Annual Verification of Operating Standards (AVS) report on the Web Portal by October 31st and February 28th.

October 31st and February 28th - Deadline for schools to update data for Annual Verification of Standards Reports 1 and 2 on the OCSAA web portal.

November 1st and March 1st - Schools not in compliance with Operating Standards will be issued a penalty or fine of $2.50/student. Schools will receive a letter indicating issues of non-compliance, for both AVS 1 and AVS 2, and an invoice from OCSAA. Non-compliance payment is due by January 31st for the October 31st review and April 30th for the February 28th review. Schools have until January 31st to correct any non-compliance issues noted from the October 31st review and April 30th to correct any non-compliance issues noted from the February 28th review.

January 31st and April 30th - Any school with out-of-compliance issues will have a temporary revocation of Accreditation until the process of re-instatement is complete. Schools will be informed of that process (see Writer's Guide). Any school that did not pay the out-of-compliance penalty payment will not be considered an accredited member of the OCSAA until the penalty is paid in full.

In order to be considered an accredited member in good standing of OCSAA, all schools are required to regularly enter, on an on-going basis, accurate data to the web portal.

NOTE: Schools are responsible to be 100% in compliance with all Operating Standards at all times. It is the school Principal's responsibility to monitor and and to address any expiration and/or non-compliance issues.

Please Note: In accordance with Ohio Administrative Code, failure to implement state-approved Operating Standards may result in the Ohio Department of Education initiating efforts to revoke the school’s charter.

Accreditation Due Dates for Schools

October 31 - Annual Verification of Standards (AVS) and Standard School Survey (SSS) Due (All schools, every year)
February 28 - Annual Verification of Standards (AVS)
April 15 - Reports due for Action on Accreditation (Schools in Self Study or Verification phases)
- Preliminary School Improvement Plan
- EVT Suggested Actions
- Response to Suggested Actions
- Final School Improvement Plan
May 1 - Progress Report I or II from schools with reports due