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Private Instruction <br />
Private Schools<br />
Children who are instructed in a private, full-time day school are exempt from public<br />
school attendance (California Education Code [EC] Section 48222). Private schools<br />
must offer instruction in the several branches of study required in the state's public<br />
schools.<br />
The California Department of Education is not empowered to license, evaluate,<br />
recognize, approve, or endorse any private elementary or secondary school or course.<br />
The State of California does not accredit public or private schools. Some schools,<br />
however, have elected to be accredited by the Western Association of Schools and<br />
Colleges (WASC). For information regarding whether a specific private school has been<br />
accredited by WASC, contact WASC, at (650) 696-1060. Additional information is also<br />
available on the WASC Accrediting Commission for Schools Web site at<br />
http://www.acswasc.org. Private school owners/administrators are subject to local city<br />
and county ordinances (e.g., health, safety, zoning, business license, and so forth) that<br />
may be applicable to the operation of private schools.<br />
There is no requirement in the EC for a teacher in a private school to hold a state<br />
teaching credential. Private school authorities are required to obtain a criminal record<br />
summary on every applicant for employment in a position requiring contact with minor<br />
pupils except a parent or legal guardian working exclusively with his or her children.<br />
Private school authorities cannot employ a person before the criminal record summary<br />
is received, and they cannot employ an applicant who has been convicted of a serious<br />
or violent felony unless the applicant has a certain certificate of rehabilitation and a<br />
pardon. Private schools are also prohibited from hiring any person who would be<br />
prohibited from employment by a public school district pursuant to any provision of the<br />
EC because of his or her conviction for any crime. On and after July 1, 1999, no person<br />
who would be prohibited from employment by a private school because of his or her<br />
criminal conviction record may own or operate a private school offering instruction on<br />
the elementary or high school level. (EC Section 44237, as amended, provides further<br />
information regarding these restrictions on hiring and private school ownership or<br />
operation.) Persons possessing a valid California teaching credential, and certain others<br />
specified in the statute, are exempt from <strong>this</strong> requirement because the criminal record<br />
check is part of the credentialing process.<br />
California private schools serving kindergarten through grade twelve are required by<br />
state law to <strong>file</strong> an informational affidavit with the School Improvement Division of the<br />
CDE each year between October 1 and October 15. Full-time private schools with<br />
physical addresses in California should <strong>file</strong> on the Private Schools Affidavit Web site at<br />
http://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/ps/rq/affidavit.asp. In the 2005-06 school year, 3,724 private<br />
elementary schools and high schools (with six or more students), enrolling 594,597<br />
students, <strong>file</strong>d affidavits. This affidavit is not a license. The affidavit is necessary for the<br />
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