Opening or Becoming a State-Accredited School in Kansas

Although there are numerous national and regional agencies that accredit schools, the Kansas State Board of Education is the only entity that can grant Kansas state accreditation to schools.

A brand new private school can seek state accreditation upon opening, or an existing non-state-accredited private school can seek to become state-accredited.
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To open (or become) a state-accredited private school in Kansas:

1. Any school seeking state accreditation in Kansas will need to follow the Kansas Education System Accreditation (KESA).  To help prepare for this process, you can review the Zero Year Planning Guidebook.  For any questions regarding this guidebook, please contact accreditation@ksde.org.
2. Review all state education statutes impacting schools in Kansas in order to ensure compliance. Contact KSDE General Counsel at (785) 296-3204 for more information on the statutes.
3. Send an e-mail to  accreditation@ksde.org. The subject line should be "Intent to open/become state accredited private school - NAME OF SCHOOL." Include the following information in the body of the message: 
   • ​first and last name of lead administrator of the school (school principal);
   • physical address of the school (include ZIP code);
   • postal address of the school (if different from physical address);
   • telephone number for the school (include area code);
   • e-mail address for the school;
   • e-mail address for the lead administrator (if different from school e-mail address);
   • web address (URL) of school's official website.
4. KSDE staff will contact the lead administrator by phone to verify the information submitted and then establish the school’s file in the KSDE database.
5. KSDE staff will then provide instructions for submitting (through the computerized system) a formal request to open or become a state-accredited private school.
6. After submitting the formal request, the lead administrator will receive notification from KSDE when the request has been approved.
7. Once the school has been approved, its status will be Accredtited Conditionally. The new accreditation status will remain in effect until changed through official action of the Kansas State Board of Education. 
8. Subsequently, accreditation status will be determined based on the regulations in effect at the time.

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For information about opening a non-accredited private school (includes home schools) in Kansas, please visit the Non-Accredited Private Schools (Homeschooling) page.

For information about opening a charter school, please visit the charter school web page.