Contents

Strong Leaders Strong Schools: 2010 School Leadership Laws

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Strong Leaders Strong Schools: 2010 School Leadership Laws

Appendix A. Bill Summaries

Arizona

Directs the State Board of Education (SBE) to allow a variety of alternative teacher and administrator preparation programs with variations in program sequencing and design to apply for program approval. Specifies that the SBE adopt rules that allow program format variety and prohibits requiring a prescribed answer or design from a provider in order to obtain approval. Requires provider evaluation to be based on the program’s ability to prepare and recruit teachers and administrators who have a variety of experience and talents. Requires the SBE to permit public schools, public and provide postsecondary institutions and professional organizations to apply for program approval. Directs the SBE to create less restrictive application procedures and certification criteria than those required for traditional preparation programs. Specifies the criteria alternative preparation program graduates must meet as:

  • Holding a bachelor’s degree from an accredited postsecondary education institution;
  • Demonstrating professional knowledge and subject knowledge proficiency;
  • Obtaining a fingerprint clearance card;
  • Completing Structured English Immersion and research-based systematic phonics instruction training; and
  • Demonstrating required proficiency in the U.S. and Arizona constitutions.

H.B. 2521
Requires school district governing boards to ensure that the contact for a school district superintendent is structured in a way that classifies 20 percent of the superintendent’s total annual compensation and benefits as performance pay. Specifies that the provisions of this act cannot be construed to require school districts to increase total compensation for superintendents. Stipulates that, unless the governing board votes to implement an alternative procedure at a public meeting, the performance pay portion of the superintendent’s total annual compensation must be determined as follows:

  • 25 percent of the performance pay must be determined based on the percentage of academic gain, determined by the Arizona Department of Education, of pupils who are enrolled in the school district compared to the academic gain achieved by the highest ranking of the 50 largest school districts in Arizona;
  • 25 percent of the performance pay must be determined by the percentage of parents of pupils who are enrolled at the school district who assign a letter grade of "A" to the school on a parental satisfaction survey;
  • 25 percent of performance pay must be determined by the percentage of teachers who are employed at the school district who assign a letter grade of "A" to the school on a teacher satisfaction survey; and
  • 25 percent of the performance pay must be determined by other criteria selected by the governing board.

S.B. 1040
By Dec. 15, 2011, requires the State Board of Education to establish and maintain a model framework for a teacher and principal evaluation instrument that uses quantitative data on student academic progress for at least 33 percent to 50 percent of the evaluation outcome. The instrument must include best practices for professional development and evaluator training. Requires school districts and charter schools to use an instrument that meets the data requirements established by the SBE to annually evaluate individual teachers and principals beginning in school year 2012-13.

Colorado

S.B. 36
By July 1, 2011, requires the State Department of Education to prepare an annual report on the effectiveness of educator preparation programs (both teachers and principals) using data obtained through the educator identifier system. The department will use data from educators in their first three years of placement. The report will analyze the correlation between different educator preparation programs, including alternative programs, and student academic growth, educator placement, and educator mobility and retention. The information, which will be available to the public online, will be shared with the educator preparation programs to help make curriculum and program improvements. Stipulates that this provision will be implemented only if the State Department of Education receives sufficient gifts, grants or donations for implementation. Colorado applied for but was not awarded a federal Race to the Top grant that, as outlined in the legislation, could have been used to fund implementation.

S.B. 191
Evaluation. Creates a statewide system to evaluate the effectiveness of teachers and principals. By March 1, 2011, requires the governor-appointed 15-member Council for Educator Effectiveness to make formal recommendations to the State Board of Education (SBOE) on how to define and measure teacher and principal effectiveness. Requires that principals receive annual evaluations, with at least at least 50 percent of a principal’s evaluation determined by student academic growth. In addition, the evaluation will determine the demonstrated effectiveness of the teachers in the principal’s school. The law also requires multiple measures of student growth for evaluations and consideration of diverse student needs, including special education status, student mobility and at-risk students. Requires the State Department of Education to create and make available to school districts a resource bank of assessments, processes, policies and tools to develop an evaluation system. Allows a designee of a licensed principal to conduct performance evaluations. The SBOE will promulgate rules by Sept. 1, 2011. The rules will go before the legislature in January 2012 for final approval. The state will pilot the new evaluation system during the 2012-13 school year. The evaluation system will be implemented statewide in school year 2013-14.

Mutual Consent. Requires a statewide end to forced placement. A teacher may be assigned to a school only with the mutual consent of the hiring principal and with input from at least two teachers employed at the school.

Connecticut

S.B. 438
Teacher and Principal Evaluations. By July 1, 2013, requires the State Board of Education (SBE), in consultation with the Performance Evaluation Advisory Council, to develop guidelines for a model teacher and principal evaluation program that guides use of numerous indicators of student academic growth. Guidelines must include: 1) ways to measure student academic growth; 2) consideration of "control" factors tracked by the expanded public school data system that could influence teacher performance, such as student characteristics, attendance and mobility; and 3) minimum requirements for evaluation instruments and procedures.

Alternative Route to Certification for School Administrators. Requires the State Department of Education (SDE) to review and approve proposals for school administrator Alternative Route Certification (ARC). Administrators’ ARC programs must be provided by: 1) public or private higher education institutions; 2) local and regional boards of education; 3) regional educational service centers; or 4) private, nonprofit teacher administrator training organizations approved by the SDE. Requires the Department of Higher Education (DHE) to develop admission criteria in consultation with the SDE. Establishes minimum admission criteria by requiring the SDE to approve only programs that require applicants to have at least: 1) bachelor’s degree from an credited institution; 2) 40 months of teaching experience in Connecticut or another state, at least 10 of which must be in a public school position requiring certification; and 3) recommendation of their immediate supervisor or district administrator, based on performance. Requires a one-year residency.

Requires the SBE to issue an initial certificate with an administration and supervision endorsement, valid for three years, to anyone who 1) successfully completes the administrators’ ARC program; and 2) (a) passes, or meets the requirements for an out-of-state administrator exemption from, Connecticut’s reading, writing and math competency exam; and (b) passes the required subject matter exam. Requires anyone who receives an initial administrator certificate after completing an administrator ARC program to obtain a master’s degree within five years of receiving initial certification. Failure to do so would make the individual ineligible for a professional educator certificate.

Waiver of Superintendent Certification. Gives the education commissioner additional authority to waive the requirement that a school superintendent hold a superintendent certificate issued by the SBE, if a wavier is required by the superintendent’s employing board of education. Also allows the commissioner to waive certification at the employing board’s request for an individual who has at least three years of successful experience in a public school in another state in the 10 years prior to the wavier application date. The experience must be as a certified administrator with a superintendent certificate issued by another state.

Tenure. Allows teachers and administrators who had tenure in another school district in-state or out-of-state and who take a job in a priority school district to attain tenure in the new district in half the usual time—after working 10 months rather than 20 months in the priority school district.

School Governance Councils. Requires school boards with low-achieving schools to establish school governance councils made up of parents, teachers, community leaders, students and the principal. The councils are empowered to, among other things, advise the principal on the school budget before it is submitted to the superintendent; interview candidates to fill principal vacancies; help the principal make programmatic and operational changes to improve the school’s achievement; advise the principal on any major policy matters affecting the school, except matters of collective bargaining; and vote to reconstitute a low-achieving school using the four models outlined in the amended version of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965.

Data System. By July 1, 2013, the State Department of Education must expand the public school information system to track and report to local and regional school boards data on performance growth by students, teachers, principals, schools and school districts. Teacher and principal data must include: 1) credentials, such as master’s degrees, preparation programs completed, and certification level and endorsements; 2) assessment, such as whether a teacher is considered highly qualified under No Child Left Behind or meets any other designations established by federal law or regulations to measure the equitable distribution of instructional staff; 3) the presence of substitute teachers in the teacher’s classroom; 4) class size; 5) absenteeism rates; and 6) presence of a teacher’s aide. Assigns unique identifiers to teachers and principals to track and gather data.

Innovation Schools. Permits a board of a priority school district to convert an existing school or establish a new school as an innovation school through agreements with the teacher and administrator unions to improve school performance and student achievement. An "innovation school" operates under an innovation plan that articulates areas of autonomy and flexibility in curriculum, budget, school schedule and calendar, school district policies and procedures, professional development, and staff policies and procedures, including waivers from or modifications to union contracts.

Innovation schools are required to operate under innovation plans. The superintendent must annually evaluate innovation schools in his or her district and submit the evaluation to the board of education and the education commissioner.

Delaware

S.B. 149
Creates license denial and revocation standards for non-public school teachers, specialists, administrators and public education employees that are consistent, to the extent possible, with the license denial and revocation standards applicable to public school teachers, specialists and administrators.

Florida

H.B. 5001
Appropriates from the General Fund $171,618 for the Florida Association of District School Superintendents Training and $35,239 for the principal of the year. Appropriates from the Federal Grants Trust Fund and State Fiscal Stabilization Fund, $25,691 for the Florida Association of District School Superintendents Training and $5,275 for the principal of the year.

Georgia

H.B. 906
Requires the State Board of Education to adopt a training program for members of local school boards by July 1, 2011. Within three months of adoption, local boards of education must adopt a training program that includes, at a minimum, training and program requirements established by the State Board of Education.

H.B. 923
Revises a provision under the Quality Basic Education Act relating to when an educator who has earned a leadership degree but is not in a leadership position may still be placed on the state salary schedule based on the leadership degree. This applies to the following:

  • An educator who possessed a leadership degree prior to July 1, 2010; and
  • An educator who possessed:
    • A master’s level leadership degree prior to July 1, 2012;
    • An education specialist level leadership degree prior to July 1, 2013; or
    • A doctoral level leadership degree prior to July 1, 2014, as long as he/she was enrolled in such leadership preparation program on or before April 1, 2009.

Hawaii

S.B. 2120
Requires the Department of Education to establish alternative routes to certification for school principals and vice-principals. Repeals the Department of Education’s authority to waive, on a case-by-case basis, certain teacher certification and school-level experience requirements for vice-principal candidates.

Iowa

H.B. 2461
Directs the State Board of Education to set standards and procedures for approval of training programs for those who seek authorization for employment as school business officials responsible for the financial operations of school districts. Provides that anyone hired on or after July 1, 2012, as a school business official who has no such prior experience in Iowa must hold the school business official authorization issued by the board pursuant to the bill or obtain the authorization within two years of the start date of employment in such position. Anyone employed as a school business official before July 1, 2012, who meets the board’s requirements, other than the training program requirements, must be issued at no charge an initial authorization by the board, but must meet the board’s renewal requirements by the time specified by the board.

S.B. 2033
Authorizes the State Board of Education to approve innovation zone schools, which are provided greater flexibility in regard to state statutes and rules. These public schools led by principals must participate in an innovation zone consortium of two or more school districts and an area education agency in which one or more of the school districts is located. The innovation zone consortium may receive technical assistance from an accredited higher education institution. To seek approval, an innovation zone consortium must submit an application that demonstrates the support of at least 50 percent of teachers and parents at each proposed innovation zone school. Limits to 10 the number of innovation zone applications approved by the State Board of Education.

S.B. 2376
Administrator Mentoring and Induction. Appropriates $195,157 for FY 2010-11 to the Beginning Administrator Mentoring and Induction Program. In the event funds appropriated for the mentoring and induction program are insufficient to pay mentors and school districts, the State Department of Education will prorate the amount distributed to school districts based upon the amount appropriate. Priority for full funding will be given to principal mentors. Remaining funds will first be used to fund superintendent mentors, then program and application costs. Redefines "beginning administrator" as an individual serving under an administrator license, issued by the Board of Educational Examiners, who is assuming a position as a school district principal or superintendent for the first time. Amends code to require school boards to implement (in addition to developing) a beginning administrator mentoring and induction plan.

Licensure and Certification. Amends code to replace standard administrator license with professional administrator license.

Illinois

H.B. 859
Appropriates $1 million for administrative costs to award grants associated with the Education Leadership Institute.

S.B. 226
Preparation Program Redesign. By July 1, 2014, requires that all institutions of higher education and not-for-profit entities approved to offer principal preparation programs must meet the following requirements: 1) meet the new standards and requirements and any rules adopted by the State Board of Education; 2) prepare candidates to meet approved standards for principal skills, knowledge and responsibilities, which include a focus on instruction and student learning and which must be used for principal professional development, mentoring and evaluation; and 3) include specific requirements for (a) selection and assessment of candidates, (b) training in evaluation of staff, (c) an internship and (d) a partnership with one or more school districts or state-recognized, non-public schools where the chief administrator is required to have the certification necessary to be a principal in a public school and where the majority of the instructors are required to have the certification necessary to be instructors in a public school. Any principal preparation program offered by a not-for-profit entity also must be approved by the Board of Higher Education. No candidates may be admitted to an approved general administrative preparation program after Sept. 1, 2012. Institutions of higher education currently offering general administrative preparation programs may no longer entitle principals with a general administrative endorsement after June 30, 2014.

Licensure and Certification. Beginning on July 1, 2014, the general administrative endorsement will no longer be issued. Creates a principal endorsement for candidates who successfully complete a principal preparation program and have four years of full-time teaching and a master’s degree. Provides that those individuals holding the general administrative endorsement prior to July 1, 2014, will have their general administrative endorsements converted to a principal endorsement upon request to the State Board of Education if specified conditions are met. Removes provisions that require renewal requirements for administrators whose positions require certification to be based upon evidence of continuing professional education that promotes certain goals. Sets forth new provisions concerning principal preparation programs.

S.B. 315
Requires school districts to establish teacher and principal evaluations that include student performance data as a "significant factor." Authorizes the State Board of Education to adopt rules as deemed necessary to implement and accomplish the law, including: 1) relating to methods for measuring student growth; 2) defining the term "significant factor" for purposes of including consideration of student growth in performance ratings; 3) controlling for such factors as student characteristics; 4) establishing minimum requirements for district teacher and principal evaluation instruments and procedures; and 5) establishing a model evaluation plan for use by school districts in which student growth will comprise 50 percent of the performance rating. Rules are to be developed through a process involving collaboration with a Performance Evaluation Advisory Council, to be convened and staffed by the State Board of Education. The council will meet at least quarterly thorough June 30, 2017. Disclosure of public school teacher, principal and superintendent performance evaluations is prohibited.

Principal Evaluations. On and after Sept. 1, 2012, principal evaluation plans must: 1) rate the principal’s performance as "excellent," "proficient,""needs improvement" or "unsatisfactory;" and 2) ensure that each principal is evaluated at least once every school year. In addition, the evaluations must be in writing and must at least do all the following: 1) consider the principal’s specific duties, responsibilities, management and competence as a principal; 2) specify the principal’s strengths and weaknesses, with supporting reasons; 3) align with research-based standards established by administrative rule; and 4) provide for use of data and indicators on student growth as a significant factor in rating principals. Provides that principals are not prohibited from evaluating any teachers within a school during their first year as a principal.

Training Evaluation. School boards must require evaluators to participate in an in-service training on the evaluation of certified personnel provided or approved by the State Board of Education (SBOE) before undertaking any evaluation and at least once during each certificate renewal cycle. An evaluator undertaking an evaluation after Sept. 1, 2012, must first successfully complete a pre-qualification program that must involve rigorous training and an independent observer’s determination that the evaluator’s ratings properly align to the requirements and have been provided or approved by the SBOE.

Data Collection, Evaluation Assessment and Support Systems. By Sept. 30, 2012, the SBOE, in collaboration with the Performance Evaluation Advisory Council, must develop or contract for development of and implement data collection, evaluation assessment and supports systems, including: 1) a system to annually collect and publish data by district and school on teacher and administrator performance evaluation results and that does not personally identify educators by publicly reported data; 2) teacher and principal model evaluation systems; 3) superintendent training program based on the model principal evaluation template; 4) one or more instruments to provide feedback to principals on the instructional environment within a school; 5) technical assistance system provider or approved by the SBOE that supports districts with the development and implementation of teacher and principal evaluation systems; 6) web-based systems and tools supporting implementation of the model templates and the evaluator prequalification and training programs; 7) a process for measuring and reporting correlations between local principal and teacher evaluations and student growth in tested grades and subjects and retention rates of teachers; and 8) a process for assessing whether school district evaluation systems developed under this act consider student growth as a significant factor in rating a teacher’s and principal’s performance are valid and reliable, contribute to staff development and improve student achievement.

S.B. 616
Allows alternative certification programs to be provided by a variety of qualified providers, including institutions of higher education and other providers operating independently from institutions of higher education. All programs must be approved by the State Board of Education in accordance with rules and regulations.

Kentucky

Clarifies evaluation requirements for school superintendents. Requires superintendents to be evaluated according to policies and procedures developed by the local board of education and approved by the State Department of Education. Requires that the summative evaluation be discussed and adopted in an open meeting of the local board of education and reflected in the minutes. Specifies that, if the local policy requires a written evaluation, it will be made available to the public upon request. Requires that preliminary discussions relating to the evaluation of the superintendent by the board or between the board and the superintendent prior to the summative evaluation be conducted in closed session.

Louisiana

H.B. 251
Requires the state superintendent, at a minimum, to possess at the time of appointment, qualifications adopted by the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) by rule for the position of superintendent of a local school board. Specifies that, except by a vote by at least two-thirds of the authorized board membership, BESE has no authority to waive for the state superintendent any qualification established by the board for the position of superintendent of a local school board. Authorizes BESE, by rule, to establish additional qualifications applicable to the state superintendent.

H.B. 488
Amends school code to require school board members to receive at least six hours (previously four hours) of training and instruction annually. Also provides that, in order to receive the designation of Distinguished School Board Member as provided in new law, a school board member must receive a minimum of 16 hours of training and instruction during his or her first year of board service.

H.B. 974
Includes successful employment as assistant principal for one year in a Louisiana public school system as an alternative to one year of successful employment as a principal in Louisiana, as necessary experience for a principal who holds out-of-state certification as a principal and has at least four years of successful experience in another state to be exempt from certain testing requirements relative to certification.

H.B. 1033
Revamps the process used by local school boards in conducting annual formal evaluations of all teachers and administrators in public elementary and secondary schools, including charter schools. Changes the current evaluation system, which is based primarily upon classroom evaluation, to a system where 50 percent of the teacher’s/administrator’s evaluation is based upon the growth in student academic achievement—a value-added model. Requires elements of evaluation and standards for effectiveness be defined by the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) and requires local evaluation plans to contain, at a minimum, a job description, a professional growth plan, observation and conferencing, classroom visitation and measure of effectiveness. The measure of effectiveness element requires, by the beginning of the 2012-2013 school year, 50 percent of evaluations to be based on evidence of student achievement growth using a value-added assessment model as determined by BESE for grade levels and subjects for which value added data is available. Requires BESE to establish measures of student growth for grade levels, subjects and personnel for which value-added data are not available. Requires the model to take into account certain student factors, including, but not limited to, special education, eligibility for free and reduced lunch, student attendance and student discipline. Requires the state superintendent of education to appoint and convene an Educator Evaluation Advisory Committee to make recommendations to BESE regarding development of a value-added assessment model; identification of measures of student growth for grades, subjects and personnel for which value-added data are not available; and adoption of standards of effectiveness. Public disclosure of employee performance evaluation information is prohibited.

Maine

S.B. 704
Eliminates the prohibition on the use of student assessment data in establishing of models for evaluation of the professional performance of teachers and principals. Requires districts that choose to use student assessments as part of evaluations to use one of the models developed by the Department of Education. Extends the models for evaluation to principals and requires that the models include several measures.

S.B. 706
Allows the commissioner to waive state requirements upon request by a school board to establish an innovative, autonomous public school. The school board may approve an instruction design, a calendar, a staff selection process and a method for assessing professional development. In addition, the school board will propose, receive and allocate funding for such schools. The school board may also request waivers as necessary to implement an instructional model and curriculum. Innovative, autonomous public schools must accept open enrollment and must demonstrate an accountability system that exceeds the state’s accountability standards and assessment system.

Maryland

H.B. 1263
Evaluation. Requires the State Board of Education to establish general standards for performance evaluations for certified teachers and principals that include observations, clear standards, rigor, and claims and evidence of observed instruction. Each local board of education must, in turn, establish performance evaluation criteria for certified teachers and principals that are mutually agreed upon by the local board and the exclusive employee representative. The performance evaluation criteria must: 1) include data on student growth as a significant component of the evaluation and as one of multiple measures; 2) not be based solely on an existing or newly created single examination or assessment; 3) use an existing or newly created single examination or assessment as one of the multiple measures; and 4) allow no single criterion to account for more than 35 percent of the total performance evaluation criteria. If a local board and the exclusive employee representative fail to mutually agree upon the evaluation criteria, the model evaluation adopted by the State Board of Education will take effect.

Incentives. Requires the State Board of Education to establish a program to support locally negotiated incentives for highly effective classroom teachers and principals to work in public schools that are: 1) in improvement, corrective action or restructuring; 2) categorized by the local school system as a Title I school; and 3) in the highest 25 percent of schools in the state, based on a ranking of the percentage of students who receive free and reduced price meals. The program may include financial incentives, leadership changes or other incentives.

S.B. 140
Appropriates $100,000 to the Academy of Leadership and $1.494 million to the Department of Education’s Division of Leadership Development.

Massachusetts

S.B. 2247
School Turnaround. Provides superintendents with greater authority in turning around low-performing schools. Allows the district superintendent of an underperforming school, with the approval of the commissioner, to create a turnaround plan. The commissioner may allow for an expedited turnaround plan for schools that have previously been designated as underperforming and where the district has a turnaround plan that has had a public comment period and approval of the local school committee. Requires the superintendent to convene a local stakeholder group of not more than 13 people to solicit recommendations on the content of such plan to maximize the rapid academic achievement of students at the school. Outlines several considerations to be included in the plan, and requires the plan to assess schools across multiple measures of school performance and student success. Gives the superintendent flexibility and authority over curriculum, budgets, schedules and personnel. Each turnaround plan will be authorized for not longer than three years and requires annual review.

Innovation Schools. Allows creation of innovation schools to improve school performance and student achievement through increased autonomy and flexibility. An innovation school may be established as a new school or as a conversion of an existing public school. Provides innovation schools with increased autonomy and flexibility over curriculum, budget, schedule, personnel, school district policies and professional development. An innovation school will be authorized by the local school committee and will operate according to an innovation plan. Requires annual evaluations of innovation zone schools.

Michigan

S.B. 981 (enacted late 2009)
Evaluation. Requires that school boards, working with teachers and school administrators, implement a rigorous, transparent and fair performance evaluation system that evaluates annually the job performance of teachers and administrators. Establishes clear approaches to measuring student growth and provides teachers and school administrators with relevant data on student growth. Evaluates job performance taking into account multiple rating categories with student growth as a significant factor. Job evaluations must be used to make decisions about the following: 1) the effectiveness of teachers and principals (ensuring ample opportunities for improvement); 2) promotion, retention and development, or professional development; 3) whether to grant tenure or full certification, or both, to teachers and school administrators using rigorous standards and streamlined, transparent and fair procedures; and 4) removing ineffective tenured and untenured teachers and administrators after they have had ample opportunities to improve, and ensuring that these decisions are made using rigorous standards and streamlined, transparent and fair procedures.

Compensation. Requires school districts to implement a method of compensation for teachers and school administrators based on job performance and accomplishments as significant factors. Assessment of job performance must incorporate a rigorous, transparent and fair evaluation system that evaluates a teacher’s or administrator’s performance at least in part based upon data on student growth as measured by assessments and other objective criteria.

Licensure and Certification. Requires the State Board of Education to develop a school administrator’s certificate to be issued to all school districts and intermediate school district superintendents, school principals, assistant principals and others who administer instructional programs. A school administrator’s certificate is valid for five years. Requires the State Department of Education to recognize alternative pathways to earning a school administrator’s certificate based on experience or alternative preparation, or both, if the alternative certification program is submitted by an established state professional organization and meets criteria set forth by the State Board of Education.

Minnesota

H.B. 2899
Governs data sharing between the Department of Education and the Boards of Teaching and School Administrators for program approval and improvement for teacher and administrator preparation programs. Requires the Board of School Administrators and the Department of Education to enter into an agreement to share educational data at the E 12 level for the limited purpose of program approval and improvement of education administration programs. The program approval process must include targeted redesign of education administration preparation programs to address identified E 12 student areas of concern. The data sharing agreements must not include educational data, but may include summary data.

New Mexico

S.B. 85
Creates the School Leadership Institute to provide a comprehensive and cohesive framework for preparing, mentoring and providing professional development for principals and leaders in public schools. Administratively attaches the Institute to the Higher Education Department. Requires the institute to provide a comprehensive and cohesive framework for preparing, mentoring and providing professional development for principals and other leaders. Requires the institute to offer the following programs:

  • Licensure preparation for aspiring principals;
  • Mentoring for new principals and other public school leaders;
  • Intensive support for principals at schools in need of improvement;
  • Professional development for aspiring superintendents; and
  • Mentoring for new superintendents.

Requires the institute to partner with state agencies, institutions of higher education and professional associations to identify and recruit candidates for the institute.

CS/H.B. 70
Codifies the requirements for a prekindergarten through postsecondary (P-20) education accountability data system in order to collect, integrate and report longitudinal student-level and educator data required to implement federal or state education performance accountability measures; conduct research and evaluation of federal, state and local education programs; and audit program compliance with federal and state requirements. Includes use of a common student and educator identifier as data components. The data system must, among other things, connect P-20 student records and public school educators to student data and provide other student-level and educator data necessary to assess the performance of the P-20 system.

New York

A.B. 11171
Develops and implements a comprehensive statewide evaluation system to annually measure teacher and principal effectiveness based on performance, including measures of student achievement. Evaluations will be a significant factor in employment decisions, including, but not limited to, promotion, retention, tenure determination, supplemental compensation, and teacher and principal professional development (including coaching, induction support and differentiated professional development). Provides for phase-in of the new system during the 2011-12 school year, first applying to teachers in common branch subjects or English language arts or mathematics, for whom the grades 3-8 state assessments are available for use in measuring student growth and principals. Provides that 40 percent of evaluations must be based on student academic measures, including 20 percent based on student growth on state assessments or other measures of student growth prescribed by the state, and 20 percent based on other rigorous and comparable measures of student achievement that are locally established. The remaining 60 percent must be based on other locally selected measures, developed through collective bargain ing. In 2012-13, the new evaluation standard will apply to teachers and principals statewide. If the State Board of Regents has not adopted a value-added growth model for the 2012-13 school year, evaluation criteria specified in the phase in will be applied. Commencing the first school year for which the State Board of Regents has adopted a value-added growth model, the percentage of the evaluation that must be based on state assessment measures of student growth increases from 20 percent to 25 percent. The following requirements also apply: 1) required training for those who conduct evaluations; 2) requirements established in statute for teacher and principal improvement plans for those receiving a rating of "developing" or "ineffective;" 3) required locally established appeals process; 4) required Department of Education consultations with an advisory committee before recommending that the board of regents approve use of a value-added growth model in evaluations and in developing regulations for the comprehensive evaluation system; 5) defined "pattern of ineffective teaching or performance" as two consecutive annual ratings of "ineffective" for purposes of disciplinary proceedings; and 6) required all collective bargaining agreements for teachers and principals entered into after July 2, 2010, be consistent with these new provisions.

S.B. 4658
Requires all first-term trustee or voting members of a board of education of a school district or board of a cooperative educational services, elected or appointed, to attend training sessions within one year of taking office to acquaint themselves with the powers, functions and duties of boards of education and other administrative authorities affecting public education.

Oklahoma

H.B. 2296
Modifies licensure requirements by requiring principals to have two years of successful teaching experience in a public or private school accredited by the State Board of Education or by another state. Requires superintendents to have two years of successful administrative experience in public or private schools accredited by the State Board of Education or by another state.

S.B. 1617
Creates the Oklahoma School Principal Training Task Force to review current training requirements for principal certification and study ways to improve and incorporate more leadership training into the certification requirements. Study topics should include: 1) current school principal certification requirements; 2) proven leadership skills needed for a principal to be effective; and 3) training programs, methods or models used for developing leadership skills in school principals. Requires the 16-member task force, chaired by the chairs of the Senate Appropriations and Budget Subcommittee on Education and the House Appropriations and Budget Subcommittee on Education, to submit a report by Dec. 31, 2010, to the governor, the president pro tempore of the Senate and the speaker of the House of Representatives. The report was to include findings for any statutory or regulatory changes necessary to implement recommendations of the task force.

S.B. 2033
Evaluations. By Dec. 15, 2011, requires the State Board of Education (SBOE) to adopt a new statewide system of evaluation to be known as the Oklahoma Teacher and Leader Effectiveness Evaluation System (TLE). The system will include: 1) a five-tier rating system (superior, highly effective, effective, needs improvement and ineffective); 2) annual evaluations that provide feedback to improve student learning and results; 3) comprehensive remediation plans and instructional coaching for all teachers rated as needs improvement or ineffective; 4) qualitative and qualitative assessment components measured as follows:

    (a) 50 percent of the ratings of teachers and leaders will be based on quantitative components to be divided as follows: 35 percent based on student academic growth using multiple years of standardized tests, as available and 15 percent based on other academic measurements, and
    (b) 50 percent of the ratings of teachers and leaders will be based on rigorous and fair qualitative assessment components;

5) evidence-based qualitative assessment tools for teachers; and 6) evidence-based qualitative assessment tools for the leader qualitative portion of the TLE that will include observable and measurable characteristics of personnel and site management practices that are correlated to student performance success, including, but not limited to:

    (a) organizational and school management, including retention and development of effective teachers and dismissal of ineffective teachers,
    (b) instructional leadership,
    (c) professional growth and responsibility,
    (d) interpersonal skills,
    (e) leadership skills, and
    (f) stakeholder perceptions.

The Oklahoma Race to the Top Commission will provide oversight and advise the SBOE on development and implementation of the TLE. A principal who has received an "ineffective" rating for two consecutive years will not be reemployed by the school district, subject to due process. TLE ratings are to be used as the primary basis when a school district is determining retention or reassignment of teachers and leaders.

By school year 2013-14, school districts must adopt evaluation policies that are based on minimum criteria developed by the SBOE and that have been revised and based on the TLE. Provides that all certified personnel be evaluated by a principal, assistant principal or other trained certified individual designated by the school district board of education. All those designated by the school district board of education to conduct the personnel evaluations are required to participate in training conducted by the SDOE or by the school district, using guidelines and materials developed by the SDOE prior to conducting evaluations.

Incentive Pay. Beginning with school year 2012- 13, a school district may implement an incentive pay plan that rewards teachers and leaders (principals, assistant principals or any other school administrator who is responsible for supervising classroom teachers) who are increasing student and school achievement growth. School leader effectiveness will be measured using the Oklahoma Teacher and Leader Effectiveness Evaluation System. Individual school leader incentive pay awards will be based on a) achieving either a "superior" or "highly effective" rating under TLE; and b) grade level, subject area, or school level performance success. Incentive pay plans will be developed through a collaborative planning process involving teachers and school leaders, among others.

Allows districts to develop and implement incentive pay systems for teachers and leaders who work in low-performing schools or in hard-to-staff schools or districts. Before implementing any incentive pay plan, school districts will place the plan on the agenda for public comment at district board of education meetings. Incentive pay awards will be annual and not part of a continuing contract. Incentive pay awards will not exceed more than 50 percent of regular salary, exclusive of fringe benefits of extra duty pay.

S.B. 2330
Allows for establishment of empowered schools, zones or districts to improve student and school performance through increased autonomy and flexibility. Sets forth criteria for empowerment plans, which must be approved by the school district and the State Board of Education. Requires review and evaluation of empowerment plans and annual reports to the governor and Legislature.

Oregon

H.B. 3619a
Establishes the Career Preparation and Development Task Force to develop a proposal for a seamless system of professional development for teachers and administrators that begins with career preparation and continues through employment. The goal is to improve the effectiveness of teachers and administrators by building stronger connections between education institutions and employers. To that end, the task force is to 1) review current practices for teachers’ professional development, including career preparation; 2) identify the strengths of and the needs for practices and procedures used in preparation, recruitment and retention of teachers and administrators; and 3) identify the gaps between institutions of preparation and employers in the practices and procedures used to prepare, recruit and retain teachers and administrators. Specifies that task force membership is to be jointly appointed by the chancellor of the Oregon University System, executive director of the Teacher Standards and Practices Commission, and superintendent of public instruction. Requires the task force to submit a report to the interim education committees no later than Dec. 2, 2010.

Rhode Island

S.B. 2777
Requires members of school committees to undertake six hours of professional development in the educational program developed by Rhode Island College.

Tennessee

S.B. 7005a
Evaluation. Creates the 15-member Teacher Evaluation Advisory Committee (TEAC) to develop and recommend to the State Board of Education (SBOE) guidelines and criteria for annual evaluation of all teachers and principals, including a local grievance procedure. Annual evaluation of principals will be based in part on student achievement data. Evaluations will be a factor in employment decisions, including, but not limited to, promotion, retention, termination, compensation and tenure. Requires 50 percent of evaluation criteria to be based on student achievement data, 35 percent of which will be based on student growth data represented by the Tennessee Value Added Assessment System (TVAAS) or comparable student growth data if no TVAAS data is available, and 15 percent on other measures of achievement. Requires the SBOE to adopt policies by July 1, 2011, to implement the recommended guidelines and criteria.

Principal Performance Contracts. The contract must contain performance standards, including the requirement that the principal’s annual evaluation be based on student achievement data, including student growth data. Other standards for evaluation can include, but are not limited to, student proficiency, graduation rates, ACT scores and student attendance.

Washington

S.B. 6696
Evaluations. Requires school districts to establish performance criteria and an evaluation process for all staff and establish a four-level rating system for evaluating classroom teachers and principals, with revised evaluation criteria by school year 2013-14. Specifies minimum criteria. The new rating system must describe performance on a continuum that indicates the extent the criteria have been met or exceeded. When student growth data is available for principals, it must be based on multiple measures if referenced in the evaluation.

Principals. The revised evaluation criteria must: 1) create a school culture that promotes ongoing improvement of learning and teaching for students and staff; 2) demonstrate commitment to closing the achievement gap; 3) provide for school safety; 4) lead development, implementation and evaluation of a data driven plan for increasing student achievement, including use of multiple student data elements; 5) assist instructional staff with alignment of curriculum, instruction and assessment with state and local district learning goals; 6) monitor, assist and evaluate effective instruction and assessment practices; 7) manage both staff and fiscal resources to support student achievement and legal responsibilities; and 8) partner with the school community to promote student learning.

Pilot and Implementation. The superintendent of public instruction, with stakeholders and experts, must create models for implementing the revised evaluation system criteria, student growth measurement tools, professional development programs, and evaluator training. Beginning in the 2010-11 school year, the superintendent must select school districts that, among other things, have the agreement of the local associations representing teachers and principals to collaborate with the district to pilot the new teacher and principal evaluation systems. If funds are provided for beginning teacher support programs, school districts participating in the phase-in of the new evaluation system will receive first priority for funds during the phase-in period. The school districts participating in the pilot must submit student data to the office of the superintendent of public instruction, which must analyze the extent to which student data is used in the evaluations. The new evaluation systems must be implemented in all school districts beginning in 2013-14.

Principals hired after June 2010 can be transferred to a subordinate position in the district even if they have more than three years of employment as a principal, based on the superintendent’s determination that the results of the principal’s performance evaluation provide a valid reason for the transfer. No probationary period is required, but support and an attempt at remediation, as defined by the superintendent, are required. A final decision by the board to transfer the principal cannot be appealed. These provisions apply only in school districts with more than 35,000 students

Professional Educator Preparation. By Sept. 1, 2010, the Professional Educators Standards Board must review and revise its teacher and administrator preparation program approval standards and, beginning Sept. 30, 2010, accept proposals for new programs that could include community and technical colleges or non-higher education providers. All approved program providers must adhere to the same standards and comply with the same requirements.

Alternative Routes to Certification. Directs the Professional Educators Standards Board (PESB) to move the alternative route certification program from a separate competitive partnership grant program to a preparation program model that can be expanded to additional approved providers. All public institutions of higher education with residency certificate programs that are not already offering an alternative route program must submit a proposal to the PESB to offer one or more of the alternative route programs.

Educator Work Force Data. Requires annual review of educator work force data to make projections of certificate needs and identify how preparation program recruitment and enrollment plans reflect need.

Wisconsin

S.B. 437
Prohibits tenure for principals and assistant principals.

Authorizes the superintendent of public instruction to intervene with the school district under certain conditions. Requires the local school board to do the following if the superintendent determines that a particular public school was in the lowest-performing 5 percent of all public schools in the state in the previous school year and is located in a school district that has been in need of improvement for four consecutive years.

  • Conduct annual vigorous and equitable performance evaluations for teachers and principals, using specific measures and including improvement in pupil academic achievement as a significant factor;
  • Adopt a policy establishing criteria for evaluating the equitable distribution of teachers and principals throughout the school district;
  • Establish teacher and principal improvement programs that include supplemental mentoring for those with emergency licenses or permits, opportunities to pursue other professional certification, including certification by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, and require at least 60 hours annually of professional development; and
  • Adopt placement criteria for principals that include performance evaluations and measures of pupil academic achievement.

Appendix B. Leadership Career Continuum

 

Selected References

Adams, Jacob E., and Michael A. Copland. When Learning Counts: Rethinking Licenses for School Leaders. Seattle, Wash.: Center on Reinventing Public Education, 2005.

Augustine, Catherine, et al. Improving School Leadership: The Promise of Cohesive Leadership Systems. Santa Monica, Calif.; RAND Corporation, 2009.

Best, Jane. ​ Developing Leaders for Successful Schools. (http://www.ncsl.org/portals/1/documents/educ/DevelopingLeadersforSuccessfulSchools.pdf) Denver: National Conference of State Legislatures, 2006.

Carroll, Thomas T., and Elizabeth Foster. Learning Teams: Creating What’s Next. Washington D.C.: National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future, 2009.

Darling-Hammond, Linda, et al. Preparing School Leaders for a Changing World: Executive Summary. Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University, Stanford Educational Leadership Institute, 2007.

Data Quality Campaign. Dat​a for Action 2010: DQC’s State Analysis. Washington, D.C.: DQC, 2010.

DeVita, Christine M.; Richard L. Colvin; Linda Darling- Hammond; and Kati Haycock. Education Leadership: A Bridge to School Reform. New York, N.Y.: The Wallace Foundation, 2007.

Fry, Betty; Kathy O’Neill; and Gene Bottoms. Schools Need Good Leaders Now: State Progress in Creating a Learning-Centered School Leadership System. Atlanta, Ga.: Southern Regional Education Board, 2007.

__________. Schools Can’t Wait: Accelerating the Redesign of University Principal Preparation Programs. Atlanta, Ga.: Southern Regional Education Board, 2006.

Leithwood, Kenneth, et al. How Leadership Influences Student Learning. Minneapolis, Minn.: Center for Applied Research and Education Improvement, and Toronto, Ontario: Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, 2004.

———. Learning From Leadership: Investigating the Links to Improved Student Learning. Minneapolis, Minn.: Center for Applied Research and Education Improvement, and Toronto, Ontario: Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, 2010.

National Association of State Boards of Education. Leveraging Policy: The Design of Cohesive Leadership Systems. Alexandria, Va.: NASBE, 2009.

New Leaders for New Schools​. Principal Effectiveness: A New Principalship to Drive Student Achievement, Teacher Effectiveness and School Turnarounds. New York, N.Y.: New Leaders for New Schools, 2009.

Orr, Margaret T.; Cheryl King; and Michelle LaPointe. Districts Developing Leaders: Lessons on Consumer Actions and Program Approaches from Eight Urban Districts. Boston, Ma.: Education Development Center, Inc, 2010.

Portin, Bradley S.; Christopher R. Alejano; Michael S. Knapp; and Elizabeth Marzoff. Redefining Roles, Responsibilities, and Authority of School Leaders. Seattle, Wash.: Center for the Study of Teaching and Policy, 2006.

Wallace Foundation. Assessing the Effectiveness of School Leaders: New Directors and New Processes. New York, N.Y.: The Wallace Foundation, 2009.

———. Becoming A Leader: Preparing School Principals for Today’s Schools. New York, N.Y.: The Wallace Foundation, 2008.

———. Beyond the Pipeline: Getting the Principals We Need, Where They Are Needed Most. New York, N.Y.: The Wallace Foundation, 2003.

———. Education Leadership: An Agenda for School Improvement. New York, N.Y.: The Wallace Foundation, 2009.

———. Research Findings to Support Effective Educational Policies: A Guide for Policymakers, 2nd edition. New York, N.Y.: The Wallace Foundation, 2011.

———.Getting Principal Mentoring Right: Lessons from the Field. New York, N.Y.: The Wallace Foundation, 2007.

U.S. Department of Education. Innovations in Education: Innovative Pathways to School Leadership. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Education, Office of Innovation and Improvement, 2004.

About the Author

Sara Shelton is a senior policy specialist in the NCSL Education Program. She is the NCSL lead staff liaison to The Wallace Foundation’s national education leadership initiative, working on school leadership and school governance issues. Ms. Shelton received her Master’s of Public Administration from the School of Public Affairs at the University of Colorado and holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Montana.

About The Wallace Foundation

The research and analysis in this report was funded by a generous grant from The Wallace Foundation.

The Wallace Foundation has dedicated the last decade to working with states and districts to cultivate better education leaders–especially principals–for our nation’s schools. The foundation has invested more than $300 million to improve leadership standards and training policies and practices in 24 states and numerous urban districts. It also has supported more than 70 research reports and other publications on aspects of education leadership, ranging from the traits of effective principals to the role of states and districts in boosting leadership. The National Conference of State Legislatures has partnered with The Wallace Foundation since 2000 to engage legislators and legislative staff in a national education leadership initiative. Resources on education leadership are available for download at www.wallacefoundation.org.

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