Statement of Faith
The Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI) was founded in 1978 when several regional U.S. school associations joined, becoming a united voice to advance excellence in Christian education. The leaders’ vision was to inspire, challenge, and resource educators and schools. First headquartered in La Habra, California, ACSI moved to an expanded facility in Colorado Springs, Colorado, in 1994. Today, ACSI serves 25,000 schools in 108 countries.
As an association we are committed to:
Biblical Fidelity and Prayer
Immerse ourselves in the Holy Scriptures and prayer, both individually and corporately; consistently measure all association actions, programs, and resources against the teachings of the Word of God; and recognize our total dependence on Him.
Biblical Foundation and Focus on Jesus Christ
Serve schools and educators that represent a range of evangelical, Protestant backgrounds; all our schools and educators will hold to the ACSI Statement of Faith.
Members We Serve
Allocate our resources, including time and finances, in such a way as to bring maximum benefit to our members, and respond promptly to constituent needs.
Stewardship
Act with faithfulness and integrity and exercise diligence in program administration, with thoroughness and research-based expertise in the production of resources, and with fiscal accountability, realizing that ACSI ultimately belongs to God and we ultimately answer to Him for all we do with that which He has entrusted to our care.
Diverse Worldwide Constituency
Be authentically international in structure and practice, promoting international, national, and regional organizational leadership for the mutual benefit of all member schools; develop programs, resources, and services with all constituents in mind, utilizing insights learned from colleagues from around the world and evidencing the high value we place on gender, ethnic, age, and cultural differences.
Staff and Their Growth
Establish personnel resource and organizational policies and practices that encourage equitable and competitive wages, support for continuing professional growth, and commitment to collaborative goal setting, accountability, and consistent implementation of evaluation systems.
Public Engagement
Influence public policy and public perception that have an impact on Christian schools and the rights of Christian educators everywhere, seek appropriate representation to protect the rights of parents to be free to choose the educational program that in their view best meets the educational and spiritual needs of their children, and work in collaboration with families, churches, governments, and other leaders and organizations to promote school compliance with all applicable laws and to promote the ability of private individuals or groups to establish and support Christian schools without restriction or reservation.
ACSI Statement of Faith
- We believe the Bible to be the inspired, the only infallible, authoritative, inerrant Word of God (2 Timothy 3:16, 2 Peter 1:21).
- We believe there is one God, eternally existent in three persons - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Genesis 1:1, Matthew 28:19, John 10:30).
- We believe in the deity of Christ (John 10:33), His virgin birth (Isaiah 7:14, Matthew 1:23, Luke 1:35), His sinless life (Hebrews 4:15, Hebrews 7:26), His miracles (John 2:11), His vicarious and atoning death (1 Corinthians 15:3, Ephesians 1:7, Hebrews 2:9), His resurrection (John 11:25, 1 Corinthians 15:4), His ascension to the right hand of the Father (Mark 16:19), and His personal return in power and glory (Acts 1:11, Revelation 19:11).
- We believe in the absolute necessity of regeneration by the Holy Spirit for salvation because of the exceeding sinfulness of human nature; and that men are justified on the single ground of faith in the shed blood of Christ and that only by God’s grace and through faith alone we are saved (John 3:16-19, John 5:24; Romans 3:23; Romans 5:8–9; Ephesians 2:8–10; Titus 3:5).
- We believe in the resurrection of both the saved and the lost; the saved unto resurrection of life, and the lost unto the resurrection of condemnation (John 5:28–29).
- We believe in the spiritual unity of believers in our Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 8:9, 1 Corinthians 12:12–13, Galatians 3:26–28).
- We believe in the present ministry of the Holy Spirit by whose indwelling the Christian is enabled to live a godly life (I Corinthians 3:16, 6:19–20, Romans 8:13–14, Ephesians 4:30, Ephesians 5:18).
- We believe that the term marriage has only one meaning: the uniting of one man and one woman in a single, exclusive union, as delineated in Scripture (Genesis 2:18–25). We believe that God intends sexual intimacy to occur only between a man and a woman who are married to each other (1 Corinthians 6:18, 7:2–5; Hebrews 13:4). We believe that God’s command is that there be no sexual intimacy outside of or apart from marriage between a man and a woman.
- We believe that God wonderfully foreordained and immutably created each person as either male or female in conformity with their biological sex. These two distinct yet complementary genders together reflect the image and nature of God (Genesis 1:26–27).
Our Statement of Faith is not exhaustive of all of our beliefs. The Bible, as the inspired and infallible Word of God, speaks with absolute authority regarding the proper conduct of mankind and is the unchanging foundation for all belief and behavior. The ACSI Board of Directors holds final interpretive authority on biblical meaning and application with regard to faith, doctrine, policy, practice, and discipline.
Treasury Guidance Provides New Clarity for Federal Education Freedom Tax Credit
Proposed regulations would allow married couples filing jointly potentially to claim up to $3,400 and will provide new guidance for scholarship organizations, states, and contributors
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Oct. 1, 2026 — The U.S. Department of the Treasury and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) today released proposed and temporary regulations providing significant new guidance to implement the federal Education Freedom Tax Credit (EFTC), scheduled to launch Jan. 1, 2027. The temporary regulations go into immediate effect.
The federal program will allow individual taxpayers to receive a nonrefundable, dollar-for-dollar federal income tax credit of up to $1,700 for qualified cash contributions to eligible Scholarship Granting Organizations (SGOs). Under the newly proposed regulations, married couples filing jointly may claim a combined credit of up to $3,400, provided each spouse makes a qualified contribution of up to $1,700.
The Treasury and the IRS temporary regulations establish procedures that states and SGOs can now use to prepare for the program’s 2027 launch. These include state election and SGO certification procedures, electronic registration, donor acknowledgements and reporting requirements.
For 2027, a state making an advance election to participate must do so on or before Jan. 1, 2027, and may finalize its list of approved SGOs by Feb. 15, 2027.
The proposed regulations are subject to public comment before final regulations are issued. Treasury and the IRS have stated that taxpayers, states and SGOs may rely on the temporary and proposed regulations for qualified contributions beginning Jan. 1, 2027.
“This is a historic moment for education in America and a remarkable opportunity for families seeking Christian education,” said Temple Weiss, President of the ACSI Education Foundation and Children’s Tuition Fund. “The Treasury Department's updated guidance, including the ability for married couples filing jointly to receive a federal tax credit of up to $3,400, has the potential to unlock significant new resources for students and families nationwide. The ACSI Children's Tuition Fund is prepared to meet the requirements of this program and to work alongside Christian schools, families, and supporters to maximize its impact.”
Weiss believes this is a significant milestone opening the door to quality, Christ-centered education.
“We encourage individuals and families to see this not simply as a tax benefit, but as a missional movement. We believe this will be transformational for a generation of students, and we invite contributors across America to turn their tax dollars into a lasting investment in a child's future.”
The ACSI Children’s Tuition Fund will continue reviewing the regulations and communicating additional information to schools, families, and prospective contributors as implementation moves forward.
About The ACSI Children’s Tuition Fund (CTF):
Children’s Tuition Fund (CTF), a ministry of The Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI), exists to advance and resource educational freedom for parents who desire a Christ-centered education for their children.
CTF works in partnership with schools, contributors, and parents to bless students by offering relationship-oriented financial assistance through these programs. CTF is also poised to facilitate the Federal Tax Credit Scholarship that will launch January 2027. As a Scholarship Granting Organization, CTF works directly with contributors (both individuals and businesses) to process and approve tax credits. We aid schools in raising support and identifying qualified families within their community, and ultimately award scholarships to those families.