Principal Richard Walters paints one picture of New Heights Christian Academy, his private school of about 175 students in Houston's Oak Forest neighborhood.

He describes a school he started at his dining room table 16 years ago, an enterprise that, despite lacking accreditation from any state or outside agency, has grown to include a staff of 24 teachers and where most graduating seniors finish with at least some college credit under their belts.

J.T. Roscoe, an officer with the Houston Police Department, depicts a different setting.

When he began investigating allegations of sexual abuse against a teacher at the academy a year ago, he was shocked — and not just by the allegation leveled by the 15-year-old female student.

Requesting a personnel file on the now former teacher Christopher Evans, Roscoe got back about four pieces of paper — less, he said, than most fast-food restaurants keep on their workers. He learned that Evans, 26, is the son-in-law of Walters, who employs several of his children at the school. Also, the parents of the 15-year-old told the officer their complaints that the teacher had been sexual with their daughter were "swept under the rug" by the administration.

"You can't have a bunch of people running something that all have the same self-interest to protect," Roscoe said of the school, which is one of hundreds in Texas that are not overseen by accrediting agencies.

The differences of opinion are about more than Evans, who has said he is not guilty after being charged late last month with sexual abuse of a child; they point to some of the continuing disagreements nationwide about the best approach to regulating private education.

Some states, including Iowa and North Dakota, require nearly every private school to be accredited, to meet state curriculum requirements, to employ certified teachers, to file student data with the state and to test students regularly, according to a 2003 survey of state standards.

A minority of others, including Texas, take a hands-off approach. The state gave up monitoring private schools in 1989, ceding that responsibility to a coalition of private accrediting agencies.

Registering with any of these organizations, however, is voluntary under state law, and many — including New Heights — choose to go it alone.

To date, nearly 900 private schools in Texas are accredited through various agencies. The exact number of unincorporated private schools is unknown. A Houston Chronicle analysis of National Center for Education Statistics and state data identified around 600, with nearly 300 in the Houston area. But Jimmy Ames, coordinator for the Texas Private School Accreditation Commission, which oversees approved accrediting agencies in the state, said he believes any list is incomplete.

"Really, nobody knows how many of those there are," Ames said. "You or I could go out and open up a school and not tell anybody that we did."

Keeping costs down
At New Heights, Walters said forgoing accreditation has helped him keep costs low enough for working-class families and denied he has compromised educational standards.

Although sexual abuse allegations can occur at any school, most accredited private schools must keep extensive paperwork on their teachers, who also have to meet certain standards before being hired. Walters said he has standards, but he declined to define them.

"I've always believed that who I needed as a teacher was provided me. From a Christian standpoint, the Lord literally just brought them in the door," he said.

His wife and three of his daughters work for the private school. Evans, the husband of one of those daughters, began working there about five years ago but left earlier this school year.

Walters would not discuss allegations that his son-in-law assaulted a student. He did, however, send a note home to parents that said an in-house investigation cleared Evans of any wrongdoing.

Some students at the campus on West 43rd said they believe they are getting a good, if sometimes less formal, education.

Recent graduate Matthew Broomfield, 19, said he liked that students could chew gum, talk and snack in class and that the high school offered far more days off than public school. But Broomfield also appreciated the academic requirements, including a program for enrolling juniors and seniors in Houston Community College courses. By the time he graduated, Broomfield had an associate's degree.

Colleges do not always acknowledge diplomas from unaccredited schools, said Ames. But when Broomfield went to apply at the University of Houston recently, he said, his associate's degree earned him automatic acceptance.