IC 20-18-2-12 defines a “nonpublic school” as a school that is not maintained by a school corporation, and includes a private school or parochial school. A nonpublic school is considered an elementary school if it provides instruction for any of grades kindergarten through 8; and a nonpublic school is considered a high school if it provides instruction for any of grades 9 through 12 (see IC 20-18-2-4 & IC 20-18-2-7). A private stand-alone preschool program does not meet the definition of a nonpublic school.
Information on the accountability and accreditation statuses of nonpublic schools registered with the Indiana Department of Education may be found on INview.
Nonpublic School Number Requirements
State-accredited nonpublic schools automatically receive a school number. It is optional for nonpublic schools that do not hold accreditation or hold accreditation by an approved third party accrediting body to register with the Indiana Department of Education. Please note that nonpublic schools participating in the Choice scholarship program must be registered with the Indiana Department of Education.
The assignment of a school identification number registers the nonpublic school with the Indiana Department of Education. Such registration does not equate to holding state accreditation. Schools holding accreditation by an approved third party accrediting body will be registered as such with the Department. A non-accredited school that receives a school identification number will be registered as a “non-accredited nonpublic” school.
Nonpublic schools looking to register with the Department must complete the Nonpublic School Number Request Form found below under Resources and meet all requirements listed under the criteria for a nonpublic school number. Please note that nonpublic school number requests are only accepted from May 1st to September 1st. Requests submitted outside this window will not be accepted.