[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6376 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6376

    To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to 
authorize competitive grants to prepare and train school principals on 
    effective core competencies and instructional leadership skills.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 11, 2012

 Mr. Sarbanes introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                Committee on Education and the Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to 
authorize competitive grants to prepare and train school principals on 
    effective core competencies and instructional leadership skills.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Instructional Leadership Act of 
2012''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) According to a 2004 study commissioned by the Wallace 
        Foundation entitled ``How Leadership Influences Student 
        Learning'', principles are second only to teachers in impacting 
        increased student academic achievement (Leithwood, Louis, 
        Whalstrom).
            (2) According to education research conducted by the 
        National Center for Analysis of Longitudinal Data in 2010 
        entitled ``Principal Effectiveness and Leadership in an Era of 
        Accountability: What Research Says'', a school principal must 
        serve as both an organizational leader and most importantly, is 
        expected to be an instructional leader, meaning the principal 
        must possess the knowledge and instructional skills to guide 
        teaching and learning in a school (Rice).
            (3) 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; and
                    (B) to help students meet challenging State student 
                academic achievement standards.
            (4) 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.
            (5) Licensure of school principals typically does not give 
        adequate emphasis to instructional leadership skills in the 
        certification process.
            (6) 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.

SEC. 3. GRANTS FOR INSTRUCTIONAL LEADERSHIP.

    (a) In General.--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:

                   ``PART I--INSTRUCTIONAL LEADERSHIP

``SEC. 1851. COMPETITIVE GRANTS.

    ``(a) Grants To Develop Innovative Programs and Sites.--From 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 to train school principals in 
instructional leadership skills, including skills relating to--
            ``(1) establishing a vision for continuous school 
        improvement and a shared responsibility for learning;
            ``(2) refining and implementing instructional practices 
        aligned to the vision of continuous improvement;
            ``(3) providing on-going learning and professional 
        development opportunities for teachers and other staff;
            ``(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 teachers and other 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 Programs.--In addition to awarding grants 
under subsection (a), from the amounts appropriated under subsection 
(h), the Secretary shall make grants, on a competitive basis, to State 
educational agencies or 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 described in paragraphs (1) through (9) of subsection (a) 
into State principal certification or licensing requirements.
    ``(c) Duration.--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) Applications.--
            ``(1) Eligible entities.--An eligible entity desiring to 
        receive a grant under subsection (a) shall submit an 
        application to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and 
        containing such information as the Secretary may require.
            ``(2) State educational agencies, partnerships, and 
        consortia.--A State educational agency, partnership, or 
        consortia desiring to receive a grant under subsection (b) 
        shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time, in 
        such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary 
        may require.
    ``(e) Report.--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.
    ``(f) Revised Concept of Effective Principal.--
            ``(1) In general.--Based on the reports submitted pursuant 
        to subsection (e), the Secretary shall, by regulation, 
        establish a definition of `an effective principal' that 
        emphasizes standards of instructional leadership.
            ``(2) Considerations.--In developing such a definition, the 
        Secretary shall give consideration to the need for principals 
        to--
                    ``(A) lead elementary schools and secondary schools 
                in a way that places student learning, professional 
                development, and assistance for parents in helping 
                their children learn at the center;
                    ``(B) set high expectations and standards for 
                academic, social, emotional and physical development of 
                all students;
                    ``(C) demand content and instruction that ensure 
                student achievement of agreed upon standards;
                    ``(D) create a culture of continuous learning for 
                teachers, other staff, and parents on the subject of 
                student learning and other school goals;
                    ``(E) manage data and knowledge to inform decisions 
                and measure progress of a student and school 
                performance; and
                    ``(F) actively engage the community to create 
                shared responsibility for student academic performance 
                and successful development.
    ``(g) Eligible Entity.--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; or
            ``(5) a partnership or consortium that includes at least 
        one of the entities described in paragraphs (1) through (4).
    ``(h) Authorization of Appropriations.--To carry out this section, 
there are authorized to be appropriated $100,000,000 for fiscal year 
2013 and such sums as may be necessary for each of the 5 succeeding 
fiscal years.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--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.''.

SEC. 4. ESTABLISHING STATE-OF-THE-ART PRINCIPAL INDUCTION PROGRAMS.

    (a) In General.--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:

  ``PART E--ESTABLISHING STATE-OF-THE-ART PRINCIPAL INDUCTION PROGRAMS

``SEC. 2501. COMPETITIVE GRANTS.

    ``(a) Grants.--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 Agency.--In 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 consisting of a high-need local 
        educational agency and--
                    ``(A) an institution of higher education;
                    ``(B) a professional organization that works with 
                and for principals; or
                    ``(C) any other nonprofit education organization.
    ``(c) Use of Funds.--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 for a new 
                principal to carry out administrative and leadership 
                tasks under the director of a master or mentor 
                principal;
                    ``(C) regular observation by a master or mentor 
                principal of the new principal in the new principal's 
                school;
                    ``(D) observation by the new principal of the 
                master or mentor principal's classroom;
                    ``(E) 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;
                    ``(F) paid release time for the master or mentor 
                principal for mentoring, or salary supplements for 
                mentoring new principals at a ratio of one full-time 
                mentor to every 12 new principals;
                    ``(G) a transition year for new principals to the 
                school that includes a reduced workload for such 
                principals; and
                    ``(H) 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.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--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.''.
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