1.This Act may be cited as the
Instructional Leadership Act of
2009
.
2.The Congress finds the following:
(1)A school principal is expected to be an
instructional leader, meaning the principal must posses the knowledge and
instructional skills to guide teaching and learning in a school.
(2)There is a clear intention within the
amendments made by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 to the Elementary and
Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.) that principals become
instructional leaders. Section 2113(c) of the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6613(c)) calls for principals to have—
(A)the
instructional leadership skills to help teachers teach and students
learn
;
(B)and to help
students meet challenging State student academic achievement
standards
.
(3)Despite this recognition of the importance
of instructional leadership, adequate attention and resources have not been
committed to training and supporting school principals—
(A)in meeting the
standards of instructional leadership in States where such standards exist;
and
(B)in developing such
standards in States where such standards do not exist.
(4)Licensure of
school principals typically does not give adequate emphasis to instructional
leadership skills in the certification process.
(5)The term highly qualified
principal added by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 to the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.) should
be defined in such Act to include a strong emphasis on instructional
leadership.
3.Grants for
instructional leadership
(a)Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of
1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.) is amended by redesignating part I as part J and
by inserting after part H the following new part:
I
1851.
(a)Grants To
develop innovative programs and sitesFrom the amounts made available under
subsection (h), the Secretary shall make grants, on a competitive basis, to
eligible entities to develop and implement innovative programs and sites (such
as leadership development schools) to train school principals in instructional
leadership skills, including skills relating to—
(1)effective
instructional practices;
(2)facilitating the
development of a school vision;
(3)providing on-going
learning and professional development opportunities for school staff, including
teachers;
(4)monitoring the
alignment of curriculum, instruction, and assessment;
(5)improving
instructional practices through the purposeful observation and evaluation of
teachers;
(6)ensuring the
regular integration of assessments appropriate to the needs of students into
daily classroom instruction;
(7)using technology
and multiple sources of data to improve classroom instruction;
(8)providing staff
with focused, sustained, research-based professional development; and
(9)engaging all
community stakeholders in a shared responsibility for student and school
success.
(b)Grants for pilot
programsIn addition to the
grants made under subsection (a), the Secretary shall make grants, on a
competitive basis, to State educational agencies, or to partnerships or
consortia that include State educational agencies, to develop and implement
pilot programs designed to evaluate and promote the incorporation of standards
of instructional leadership into State principal certification or licensing
requirements.
(c)A
grant made under this section shall be awarded for a period of 2 years, and may
be renewed for a period of 2 additional years.
(d)An eligible entity desiring a to receive
grant under this section shall submit an application to the Secretary at such
time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may
require.
(e)For purposes of this section, the term eligible
entity means—
(1)a State educational agency;
(2)a local
educational agency;
(3)a nonprofit
organization (such as a State principal association);
(4)an institution of
higher education; and
(5)a partnership or
consortium that includes at least 1 of the entities described in paragraphs (1)
through (4).
(f)A recipient of a grant under this section
shall submit to the Secretary a report describing the results of its activities
funded by such grant. Such report shall be submitted at such time, in such
manner, and containing such additional information as the Secretary may
require.
(g)Revised concept
of highly qualified principal
(1)Based on the reports
submitted pursuant to subsection (f), the Secretary shall, by regulation,
establish a definition of highly-qualified principal that
emphasizes standards of instructional leadership.
(2)In
developing such a definition, the Secretary shall give consideration to the
need for principals to—
(A)demonstrate the
knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed to effectively lead teaching and
learning in schools;
(B)engage in
continuous professional development, utilizing a combination of academic study,
developmental simulation exercises, self-reflection, mentorship, and
internship; and
(C)demonstrate the capacity to lead the
establishment and maintenance of a professional learning community that
effectively uses real time data, including State academic assessments described
in section 1111(b)(3), that inform instruction, focus review, and target
remediation for the purposes of ensuring standards and course content mastery,
and personalized instruction for every student.
(h)Authorization of
appropriationsTo carry out
this section, there are authorized to be appropriated $100,000,000 for fiscal
year 2010 and such sums as may be necessary for each of the 5 succeeding fiscal
years.
.
(b)The table of contents for the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act of 1965 is amended by redesignating the item relating to part I
of title I as relating to part J and by inserting before such item the
following:
Part I—Instructional
leadership
.
Sec. 1851. Competitive grants.
4.Establishing
state-of-the-Art principal induction programs
(a)Title II of the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6601 et seq.) is
amended by adding at the end the following:
EEstablishing
state-of-the-Art principal induction programs
2501.
(a)From the amounts made available to carry
out this section, the Secretary may make grants, on a competitive basis, to
States and eligible local educational agencies for the purpose of developing
state-of-the-art principal induction programs.
(b)Eligible Local
Educational AgencyIn this section, the term eligible local
educational agency means—
(1)a high-need local
educational agency (as such term is defined in section 2102(3)); or
(2)a partnership of a
high-need local educational agency; and—
(A)an institution of
higher education;
(B)a principal
organization; or
(C)any other
nonprofit education organization.
(c)A State or an eligible local educational agency that
receives a grant under subsection (a) shall use the funds made available
through the grant to develop a state-of-the-art principal induction program
that—
(1)provides new
principals a minimum of 3 years of extensive, high-quality, comprehensive
induction into the field of school administration; and
(2)includes—
(A)structured
mentoring from highly qualified master or mentor principal who are certified,
have school administration experience in a school similar to the school of the
new principal, and are trained to mentor new principals;
(B)at least 90
minutes each week of common meeting time for a new principal to administrative
and leadership tasks under the director of a master or mentor principal;
(C)regular
observation by a master or mentor principal in the new principal’s
school;
(D)observation by the
new principal of the master or mentor principal’s classroom;
(E)intensive
professional development activities for new principals that result in improved
instructional leadership and student achievement, including—
(i)lesson
demonstration by master and mentor principals in the classroom;
(ii)observation by
such master and mentor principals; and
(iii)feedback by such
master and mentor principals;
(F)observation by new
principals of at least 3 principals and feedback (that uses research-validated
benchmarks of leadership skills and standards that are developed with input
from principals) at least 4 times each school year by multiple evaluators,
including master and mentor principals;
(G)paid release time
for the mentor principal for mentoring, or salary supplements under section
2502 for mentoring new principals at a ratio of one full-time mentor to every
12 new principals;
(H)a transition year
for new principals to the school that includes a reduced workload for such
principals; and
(I)a standards-based
assessment, which may include examination of practice and a measure of gains in
student learning, of every new principal to determine whether the principal
should move forward in the school administration profession.
(d)Authorization of
appropriationsThere are
authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out this
section.
.
(b)The table of contents for the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act of 1965 is amended by inserting after the item relating to
section 2441 the following:
Part E—Establishing state-of-the-Art
principal induction programs
.
Sec. 2501. Competitive grants.