Our History

The Florida Catholic Conference Accreditation Program is one of the oldest Catholic accreditation programs in the country and has influenced other Catholic school accreditation programs. In the late 1960's the bishops of Florida, appointed a committee to explore the process of accreditation. After studying the various accreditation programs currently in use, they decided to establish a program unique to Catholic schools in the state which would assure their Catholic identity and guarantee their constant and continued improvement.

The bishops of Florida further decided to adapt their program to the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) accreditation program. In 1969, the bishops established the Florida Catholic Conference Accreditation Program and required all parochial and diocesan elementary and special education schools to be accredited. They also determined that the secondary schools would continue to seek accreditation by SACS.

In 1970-1971, the first set of schools began the self-study process and, in 1972, were visited and received accreditation status. By 1981-1982, one-hundred forty schools had been accredited. In 1995, the Diocese of Savannah requested admission and was accepted into the program. As of June 2010, there were xxx accredited elementary schools, x schools in candidate status, and x schools in affiliate status.

Standards are periodically reviewed, updated, and then promulgated by the bishops of Florida. The standards and accreditation process have been revised five times since 1972. Most recently, in 2000-2001, a committee was charged to revise the standards and set in motion a new process called "school improvement plan." The new standards went into effect in the 2002-2003 school year. Update…

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History of the FCCAP by Thomas A. Horkan, Jr., Executive Director Emeritus