A. Membership in the association is available to any Catholic school in Ohio* that is recognized by the Bishop of the diocese in which it is located and that pays the annual membership fee.
B. Categories of Membership:
(1) Full membership shall be granted to any member school that attains full accreditation status. The member school retains full membership as long as the school maintains full accreditation status. Full members shall apply for reaccreditation every six years.
(2) Associate membership shall be granted to any member school that has not yet attained full accreditation status. Ordinarily, a school shall not hold associate membership for more than five continuous years. C. Membership Status of a School Seeking a Charter:
Step One - The school applies to the OCSAA for membership in the OCSAA and for assistance in obtaining a letter of approval to operate from the Ohio Department of Education. The letter of approval is the first step in the process of obtaining a charter from the State Board of Education. The letter of approval is good for four years.
Step Two - The school is given associate membership in the OCSAA for three years. The school shall be required to fully implement all OCSAA Standards when the school opens, except those standards which the school is given more time to implement (as specifically designated by the OCSAA and approved by the Ohio Department of Education). Step Three - No later than the third year of operation, the school begins the accreditation process with a self-study. * Applicable to Catholic schools in Ohio in: the Archdiocese of Cincinnati and the Dioceses of Cleveland, Columbus, Steubenville, Toledo, Youngstown, the Byzantine Eparchy of Parma, the Romanian Eparchy of St. George in Canton, and the Ukrainian Catholic Diocese of St. Josephat in Parma - members of the Catholic Conference of Ohio.