1.This Act may be cited as the
Instructional Leadership Act of
2012
.
2.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.
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 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
programsIn 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)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)
(1)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 consortiaA 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)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)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)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)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
appropriationsTo 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)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
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)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)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.
.