Fairly regularly, I get questions about the importance of accreditation with online high schools. While my answer has changed over time, I like to believe that is due to changes in the system. That being said, I consider a school accredited and/or recognized if:

1. It is accredited by one of the six regional accrediting bodies (and you can find them here). In some cases, the accreditor is sort of a sub-organization, but amounts to the same thing; or

2. It is accredited by one of the national accrediting organizations. The Distance Education & Training Council is the largest. The others are listed here.

3. It is accredited by CITA, which is a collaboration between accreditors to account for international and trans-regional programs.

4. It is recognized by a state department of education, county office of education, or a local school district.

For the most part, that is it. While there are other accreditors out there, my preference and, importantly, the marked preference of Best Online High Schools is that some is watching the watchers.