The Pennsylvania School Code, Section 13-Pupils & Attendance 24 P.S. 13-1327 requires a school that be owned and operated by or under the authority of a bona fide religious institution to be registered with the Department of Education. Informational packets for bona fide religious entities and sole proprietorship constituents/owners can be obtained by contacting the Non-Public/Non-Licensed School area at ra-nppss@pa.gov.
Please be aware that a nursery/preschool owned or operated by or under the authority of a bona fide religious entity is exempt from registration since it is not a school age grade level school. The school owner can, however, choose to apply for a private academic school license through the Pennsylvania Department of Education or a certificate of compliance to operate the nursery/preschool level through the Department of Human Services, Office of Child Development and Early Learning.
Licensing a Private Academic School
To apply for a license to operate a private academic school, a school owner shall review and comply with the Regulations Governing Private Academic Schools. Upon review of the regulations, the owner of the school shall register to attend one of the In-service trainings held the first Tuesday of each month. It is highly recommended that the proposed Education Director attend. No more than 2 people from a school can attend. The In-service is held at the PaTTAN building in Harrisburg, PA starting at 1:00 p.m. and can last up to 3 hours. You must have a confirmation letter/email to attend this In-service. Please email ra-nppss@pa.gov to request the registration form. At the time of your attendance, you will receive the licensure application and important information needed to successfully operate a licensed private academic school.
Please note that the School Services Office does not mail the private academic licensure application.
After reviewing the fully completed application packet, a member of the School Services Office will contact the owner or education director to schedule an onsite visit of the school, at which time staff will take measurements and pictures of the rooms.
Once the application is deemed complete, the licensure application will be presented at a meeting of the State Board of Private Academic Schools, at which time the State Board of Private Academic Schools will approve or deny the application. The education director and teacher familiar with the proposed school will be requested to attend this meeting. If the Board approves the application, the school shall receive an approval letter, and then the license to display in the school.
Private Academic License Renewal
A private academic school license is renewed annually on the anniversary date of the license. The annual renewal fee is based on the enrollment and category of the license held by the school. A renewal packet and invoice is submitted to the school's education director 60 days prior to the license expiration date. The school owner and/or education director is responsible for submitting the renewal application and fee to the School Services Office prior to the expiration date. Upon confirmation of compliance, the renewal license will be issued.
If the school is not compliant, the owner has 90 days to resolve the noncompliance issues. Upon reaching the 90-day deadline, if the issues are not resolved, the renewal license is denied and the school has 10 days to appeal the denial.
Registering a Nonpublic/Non-licensed School
The Pennsylvania School Code, Section 13-Pupils & Attendance 24 P.S. 13-1327 requires a school (kindergarten to 12th grade) that is owned and/or operated by or under the authority of a bona fide religious institution to be registered with the Department of Education acknowledging that the school will comply with the compulsory attendance requirement and courses of instruction. In addition, a school (kindergarten to 12th grade) that is self-incorporated by the Department of State with a sole purpose of teaching a religious education must be registered with the Department of Education acknowledging the same.
Questions and information on operating a nonpublic non-licensed school can be obtained by contacting the School Services Office at ra-nppss@pa.gov.
Nonpublic Non-licensed Nursery/Preschool
A nursery/preschool owned and/or operated by or under the authority of a bona fide religious institution or self-incorporated through the Department of State with a sole purpose of teaching a religious education is exempt from licensure by the State Board of Private Academic Schools, and is not eligible for registration by the Department of Education since it does not fall under the compulsory attendance law. The school owner can, however, choose to apply for a private academic school license by the State Board of Private Academic Schools.
If the school is not licensed by the Board, then a certificate of compliance through the Department of Human Services, Office of Child Development and Early Learning is required to operate the nursery/preschool. Information regarding OCDEL and certification of a nursery/preschool can be found at the following links: