I 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1736 

To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to recruit, 

prepare, and support principals through capacity-building measures that 

will improve student academic achievement in high-need schools. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 25, 2013 

Mrs. DAVIS of California (for herself, Mr. POLIS, Mr. BEN RAY LUJA ́N of 

New Mexico, Ms. BORDALLO, and Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD) 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 recruit, prepare, and support principals 

through capacity-building measures that will improve student academic achievement in high-need schools. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘School Principal Re5 cruitment and Training Act of 2013’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 

2 The purpose of this Act is to recruit, prepare, and 

3 support principals through capacity-building measures 

4 that will improve student academic achievement in high5 need schools. 

6 SEC. 3. PROGRAM ESTABLISHMENT AND ACTIVITIES. 

7 Part A of title II of the Elementary and Secondary 

8 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6601 et seq.) is amend9 ed by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘SUBPART 6—PRINCIPAL RECRUITMENT AND TRAINING

11 ‘‘SEC. 2161. PRINCIPAL RECRUITMENT AND TRAINING 

12 GRANT PROGRAM. 

13 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

14 ‘‘(1) CURRENT PRINCIPAL.—The term ‘current 

15 principal’ means an individual who, as of the date of 

16 the determination of participation in a program 

17 under this section, is employed as a principal or has 

18 been employed as a principal. 

19 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligible en20 tity’ means— 

21 ‘‘(A) a local educational agency that serves 

22 an eligible school or a consortium of such agen23 cies; 

24 ‘‘(B) a State educational agency or a con25 sortium of such agencies; 


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1 ‘‘(C) a State educational agency in part2 nership with one or more local educational 

3 agencies that serve an eligible school; or 

4 ‘‘(D) an entity described in subparagraph 

5 (A) or (B), or in partnership with one or more 

6 nonprofit organizations or institutions of higher 

7 education. 

8 ‘‘(3) ELIGIBLE SCHOOL.—The term ‘eligible 

9 school’ means a public school, including a public 

10 charter school, that meets one or more of the fol11 lowing criteria: 

12 ‘‘(A) Is a high-need school. 

13 ‘‘(B) Is a persistently low-achieving school, 

14 as described in section 1116. 

15 ‘‘(C) Is an achievement gap school, as de16 scribed in section 1116. 

17 ‘‘(D) In the case of a public school con18 taining middle grades, feeds into a public high 

19 school that has less than a 60-percent gradua20 tion rate. 

21 ‘‘(E) Is a rural school served by a local 

22 educational agency that is eligible to receive as23 sistance under part B of title VI. 


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1 ‘‘(4) MENTOR PRINCIPAL.—The term ‘mentor 

2 principal’ means an individual with the following 

3 characteristics: 

4 ‘‘(A) Strong instructional leadership skills 

5 in an elementary school or secondary school set6 ting. 

7 ‘‘(B) Strong verbal and written commu8 nication skills, which may be demonstrated by 

9 performance on appropriate assessments. 

10 ‘‘(C) Knowledge, skills, and attitudes to— 

11 ‘‘(i) establish and maintain a profes12 sional learning community that effectively 

13 extracts information from data to improve 

14 the school culture and personalize instruc15 tion for all students to result in improved 

16 student achievement; 

17 ‘‘(ii) create and maintain a learning 

18 culture within the school that provides a 

19 climate conducive to the development of all 

20 members of the school community, includ21 ing one of continuous learning for adults 

22 tied to student learning and other school 

23 goals; 

24 ‘‘(iii) engage in continuous profes25 sional development, utilizing a combination 


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1 of academic study, developmental simula2 tion exercises, self-reflection, mentorship 

3 and internship; 

4 ‘‘(iv) understand youth development 

5 appropriate to the age level served by the 

6 school and from this knowledge sets high 

7 expectations and standards for the aca8 demic, social, emotional and physical devel9 opment of all students; and 

10 ‘‘(v) actively engage the community to 

11 create shared responsibility for student 

12 academic performance and successful de13 velopment. 

14 ‘‘(5) MIDDLE GRADES.—The term ‘middle 

15 grades’ means any of grades 5 through 8. 

16 ‘‘(6) SCHOOL-LEVEL STUDENT OUTCOMES.— 

17 The term ‘school-level student outcomes’ means, at 

18 the whole school level and for each subgroup of stu19 dents described in section 1111(a)(2)(B)(ix) served 

20 by the school— 

21 ‘‘(A) student academic achievement and 

22 student growth; and 

23 ‘‘(B) additional outcomes, including, at the 

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1 centage of students taking college-level course2 work. 

3 ‘‘(b) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.— 

4 ‘‘(1) PRINCIPAL, RECRUITMENT AND TRAINING

5 GRANT PROGRAM.—The Secretary shall award 

6 grants to eligible entities to enable such entities to 

7 recruit, prepare, place, and support principals in eli8 gible schools. 

9 ‘‘(2) DURATION.— 

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.— 

11 ‘‘(i) NOT MORE THAN 5 YEAR DURA12 TION.—A grant awarded under this section 

13 shall be not more than 5 years in duration. 

14 ‘‘(ii) RENEWAL.—The Secretary 

15 may— 

16 ‘‘(I) renew a grant awarded 

17 under this section based on perform18 ance; and 

19 ‘‘(II) in renewing a grant under 

20 subclause (I), award the grantee in21 creased funding to scale up or rep22 licate the grantee’s program. 

23 ‘‘(B) PERFORMANCE.—In evaluating per24 formance for purposes of subparagraph 

25 (A)(ii)(1)— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the Secretary’s primary consider2 ation shall be the extent to which the prin3 cipals recruited, prepared, placed, or sup4 ported by the grantee have improved 

5 school-level student outcomes in eligible 

6 schools; and 

7 ‘‘(ii) the Secretary shall also consider 

8 the percentage of program graduates— 

9 ‘‘(I) who become principals in eli10 gible schools; 

11 ‘‘(II) who remain principals in el12 igible schools for multiple years; and 

13 ‘‘(III) who are highly rated prin14 cipals under a teacher and principal 

15 evaluation system, if applicable. 

16 ‘‘(c) APPLICATION AND SELECTION CRITERIA.— 

17 ‘‘(1) APPLICATION.—An eligible entity that de18 sires a grant under this section shall submit to the 

19 Secretary an application at such time, in such man20 ner, and accompanied by such information as the 

21 Secretary may require. 

22 ‘‘(2) SELECTION CRITERIA.—In awarding 

23 grants under this section, the Secretary shall con24 sider— 


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1 ‘‘(A) the extent to which the entity has the 

2 capacity to implement the activities described in 

3 subsection (e) that the entity proposes to imple4 ment; 

5 ‘‘(B) the extent to which the entity has a 

6 demonstrated record of effectiveness or an evi7 denced-based plan for preparing principals to 

8 improve school-level student outcomes in eligible 

9 schools; 

10 ‘‘(C) the extent to which the entity has a 

11 demonstrated record of effectiveness or an evi12 dence-based plan for providing principals 

13 trained by the entity with the guidance, sup14 port, and tools they need to improve school-level 

15 student outcomes in eligible schools, including 

16 providing principals with resources, such as 

17 funding to ensure supports for quality teaching, 

18 and decisionmaking authority over areas such 

19 as personnel, budget, curriculum, or scheduling; 

20 and 

21 ‘‘(D) the likelihood of the entity sustaining 

22 the project with funds other than funds pro23 vided under this section, which other funds may 

24 include funds provided under this title other 


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1 than this section, once the grant is no longer 

2 available to the entity. 

3 ‘‘(d) AWARDING GRANTS.— 

4 ‘‘(1) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this 

5 section, the Secretary shall, give priority to an eligi6 ble entity that has the ability to provide data on 

7 principal preparation or a record of preparing or de8 veloping principals who— 

9 ‘‘(A) have improved school-level student 

10 outcomes; 

11 ‘‘(B) have become principals in eligible 

12 schools; and 

13 ‘‘(C) remain principals in eligible schools 

14 for multiple years. 

15 ‘‘(2) GRANTS FOR RURAL SCHOOLS AND LOW16 PERFORMING SCHOOLS.—In awarding grants under 

17 this section, the Secretary shall, consistent with the 

18 quality of applications— 

19 ‘‘(A) award not less than one grant to an 

20 eligible entity that intends to establish a pro21 gram that focuses on training or supporting 

22 principals and other school leaders for rural 

23 schools; and 

24 ‘‘(B) award not less than one grant to an 

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1 gram to train and support principals and other 

2 school leaders to lead reform efforts in a State 

3 or more than one State, as determined under 

4 section 1116. 

5 ‘‘(3) REFORM EFFORTS.—An eligible entity 

6 that receives a grant under this section to carry out 

7 a program described in paragraph (2)(B)— 

8 ‘‘(A) during the first year of the grant, 

9 shall use grant funds— 

10 ‘‘(i) to bring together experts and 

11 stakeholders who are committed to dra12 matic and effective reform of persistently 

13 low-achieving schools who can provide 

14 input about what the evidence base shows 

15 regarding effective school leadership in 

16 such schools; 

17 ‘‘(ii) to collect and develop, in con18 sultation with experts and stakeholders, a 

19 core body of knowledge regarding effective 

20 school reform leadership in persistently 

21 low-achieving schools, which is evidence 

22 based; 

23 ‘‘(iii) to develop, drawing on the core 

24 body of knowledge developed in clause (ii), 

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1 cipals, mentors, and other school leaders, 

2 to prepare and support the principals, 

3 mentors, and leaders to lead effective 

4 school reform efforts in persistently low 

5 achieving schools; and 

6 ‘‘(B) during each year of the grant after 

7 the first year, shall use grant funds— 

8 ‘‘(i) to carry out the leadership train9 ing program described in subparagraph 

10 (A)(iii); 

11 ‘‘(ii) to ensure that the leadership 

12 training program described in subpara13 graph (A)(iii) is informed, on an ongoing 

14 basis, by consultation with experts and 

15 stakeholders, and by the program’s track16 ing of the performance of its graduates in 

17 leading school reform efforts in persistently 

18 low-achieving schools; 

19 ‘‘(iii) to select cohorts of experienced 

20 principals to lead school reform efforts in 

21 persistently low-achieving schools; 

22 ‘‘(iv) to provide support for, and en23 courage interaction among, cohorts of prin24 cipals after completion of the leadership 


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1 training program described in subpara2 graph (A)(iii); and 

3 ‘‘(v) to disseminate information to 

4 principals, mentors, and other school lead5 ers engaging in reform efforts in persist6 ently low-achieving schools. 

7 ‘‘(e) ACTIVITIES.—Each eligible entity that receives 

8 a grant under this section shall use grant funds to carry 

9 out the following: 

10 ‘‘(1) To recruit and select, using rigorous, com11 petency-based, selection criteria, and train and sup12 port a diverse group of aspiring or current prin13 cipals, or both, for work in eligible schools. 

14 ‘‘(2) Tracking participants to determine if such 

15 individuals are attaining, or have attained, the com16 petencies needed to complete the training and enter 

17 into an effective leadership role, and provide coun18 seling and, if appropriate, separation, to participants 

19 who the entity determines will not attain, or have 

20 not attained, those competencies. 

21 ‘‘(3) If the eligible entity provides a program 

22 for aspiring principals— 

23 ‘‘(A) candidates must demonstrate aware24 ness of and have experience with the knowledge, 

25 skills and attitudes to— 


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1 ‘‘(i) establish and maintain a profes2 sional learning community that effectively 

3 extracts information from data to improve 

4 the school culture and personalize instruc5 tion for all students to result in improved 

6 student achievement; 

7 ‘‘(ii) create and maintain a learning 

8 culture within the school that provides a 

9 climate conductive to the development of 

10 all members of the school community, in11 cluding one of continuous learning for 

12 adults tied to student learning and other 

13 school goals; 

14 ‘‘(iii) engage in continuous profes15 sional development, utilizing a combination 

16 of academic study, developmental simula17 tion exercises, self-reflection, mentorship 

18 and internship; 

19 ‘‘(iv) understand youth development 

20 appropriate to the age level served by the 

21 school and from this knowledge set high 

22 expectations and standards for the aca23 demic, social, emotional and physical devel24 opment of all students; and 


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1 ‘‘(v) actively engage the community to 

2 create shared responsibility for student 

3 academic performance and successful de4 velopment; a preservice residency that is 

5 not less than 1 year in length, and that in6 cludes coaching from a mentor principal, 

7 and instructional leadership and organiza8 tional management experience; and 

9 ‘‘(B) the program shall provide aspiring 

10 principals with— 

11 ‘‘(i) a preservice residency that is not 

12 less than 1 year in length, and that in13 cludes coaching from a mentor principal, 

14 and instructional leadership and organiza15 tional management experience; 

16 ‘‘(ii) focused coursework on instruc17 tional leadership, organizational manage18 ment, and the use of a variety of data for 

19 purposes of— 

20 ‘‘(I) instruction; 

21 ‘‘(II) evaluation and development 

22 of teachers; and 

23 ‘‘(III) development of highly ef24 fective school organizations; and 


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1 ‘‘(iii) ongoing support, mentoring, and 

2 professional development for not less than 

3 2 years after the aspiring principals com4 plete the residency and commence work as 

5 assistant principals and principals. 

6 ‘‘(4) To train mentors for principals and assist7 ant principals who are serving or who wish to serve 

8 in eligible schools or for aspiring principals who wish 

9 to serve in such eligible schools, or for both. 

10 ‘‘(5) Providing differentiated training to partici11 pants in competencies that evidence shows are crit12 ical to improving school-level student outcomes in el13 igible schools, such as— 

14 ‘‘(A) recruiting, training, supervising, sup15 porting, and evaluating teachers and other 

16 staff; 

17 ‘‘(B) establishing learning communities 

18 where principals and teachers— 

19 ‘‘(i) share a school mission and goals 

20 with an explicit vision of quality teaching 

21 and learning that guides all instructional 

22 decisions; 

23 ‘‘(ii) commit to improving student 

24 outcomes and performances; 


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1 ‘‘(iii) set a continuous cycle of collec2 tive inquiry and improvement; 

3 ‘‘(iv) foster a culture of collaboration 

4 where teachers and principals work to5 gether on a regular basis to analyze and 

6 improve teaching and learning; and 

7 ‘‘(v) support and share leadership; 

8 ‘‘(C) where applicable for participants serv9 ing elementary schools, offering high-quality 

10 early childhood education to the students such 

11 participants are serving and facilitating the 

12 transition of children from early learning set13 tings to elementary school; 

14 ‘‘(D) setting high expectations for student 

15 achievement that will prepare them for college 

16 and career; 

17 ‘‘(E) addressing the unique needs of spe18 cific student populations served, such as stu19 dents with disabilities, students who are 

20 English learners, and students who are home21 less or in foster care; 

22 ‘‘(F) managing budget resources and 

23 school time to support high-quality instruction 

24 and improvements in student achievement, such 

25 as by extending the school day and year and 


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1 providing common planning time to teachers 

2 and staff; 

3 ‘‘(G) working effectively with students’ 

4 parents and other members of the community; 

5 ‘‘(H) using technology and multiple 

6 sources of data to personalize instruction; 

7 ‘‘(I) monitoring and improving the align8 ment and effectiveness of curriculum, instruc9 tion, and assessment, using a variety of data 

10 providing evidence of student and school out11 comes; and 

12 ‘‘(J) developing and maintaining a positive 

13 school culture where students, teachers and 

14 other staff are motivated to collaborate and 

15 work together to achieve goals. 

16 ‘‘(6) Delivering high-quality, differentiated, 

17 school-level support services and training to current 

18 principals of eligible schools, if the eligible entity 

19 provides a program for current principals, or during 

20 the period described in paragraph (3)(B)(iii) to indi21 viduals who have completed the aspiring principal 

22 residency, if the eligible entity provides a program 

23 for aspiring principals, to help meet the specific 

24 needs of the eligible schools they serve, which may 

25 include— 


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1 ‘‘(A) training and support for the design of 

2 school-wide improvement plans based on the di3 agnosis of school conditions and needs informed 

4 by data and analysis of classroom and school 

5 practices; and 

6 ‘‘(B) support in organizing and training 

7 the teams described in paragraph (5)(B). 

8 ‘‘(7) Making available any training materials 

9 funded under the grant, such as syllabi, assign10 ments, or selection rubrics, to the department for 

11 public dissemination. 

12 ‘‘(8) Tracking the effectiveness of the program 

13 based on, at a minimum— 

14 ‘‘(A) school-level student outcomes at the 

15 schools where program graduates have served 

16 as principals; 

17 ‘‘(B) the percentage of program graduates 

18 who become principals in eligible schools; 

19 ‘‘(C) the percentage of program graduates 

20 who remain principals or assistant principals in 

21 eligible schools for multiple years; and 

22 ‘‘(D) the percentage of program graduates 

23 who are highly rated under a teacher and prin24 cipal evaluation system, if applicable. 


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1 ‘‘(9) Using the data on the effectiveness of the 

2 program for, among other purposes, the continuous 

3 improvement of the program. 

4 ‘‘(f) ANNUAL REPORT.—An eligible entity that re5 ceives a grant under this section shall submit an annual 

6 report, beginning in the third year of the grant, to the 

7 Secretary regarding— 

8 ‘‘(1) school-level student outcomes resulting 

9 from implementation of the grant activities; and 

10 ‘‘(2) data on— 

11 ‘‘(A) the percentage of program graduates 

12 who become principals or assistant principals in 

13 eligible schools; 

14 ‘‘(B) the percentage of graduates who re15 main principals or assistant principals in eligi16 ble schools for multiple years; and 

17 ‘‘(C) the percentage of program graduates 

18 who are highly rated under a teacher and prin19 cipal evaluation system, if applicable. 

20 ‘‘(g) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.— 

21 ‘‘(1) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.— 

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity that 

23 receives a grant under this section shall con24 tribute annually to the activities assisted under 

25 such grant matching funds in an amount equal 


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1 to not less than 20 percent of the amount of 

2 the grant from non-Federal sources. 

3 ‘‘(B) MATCHING FUNDS.—The matching 

4 funds requirement under subparagraph (A) may 

5 be met by— 

6 ‘‘(i) contributions that are in cash or 

7 in-kind, fairly evaluated; and 

8 ‘‘(ii) payments of a salary or stipend 

9 to an aspiring principal during the aspiring 

10 principal’s residency year. 

11 ‘‘(2) WAIVER.—The Secretary may waive or re12 duce the matching requirement under paragraph (1) 

13 if the eligible entity demonstrates a need for such 

14 waiver or reduction due to financial hardship. 

15 ‘‘(h) SUPPLEMENT, NOT SUPPLANT.—Grant funds 

16 provided under this section shall be used to supplement, 

17 and not supplant, any other Federal, State, or local funds 

18 otherwise available to carry out the activities described in 

19 this section. 

20 ‘‘(i) EVALUATION AND DISSEMINATION OF BEST

21 PRACTICES.—In accordance with section 9601, the Sec22 retary shall— 

23 ‘‘(1) carry out an evaluation of programs fund24 ed under this section; and 


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1 ‘‘(2) identify and disseminate research and best 

2 practices related to such programs. 

3 ‘‘(j) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 5 years 

4 after the date of the enactment of the School Principal 

5 Recruitment and Training Act of 2013, the Secretary shall 

6 submit a report to the Committee on Health, Education, 

7 Labor, and Pensions of the Senate, the Committee on Ap8 propriations of the Senate, the Committee on Education 

9 and the Workforce of the House of Representatives, and 

10 the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Rep11 resentatives on lessons learned through programs funded 

12 with grants awarded under this section. 

13 ‘‘(k) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

14 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

15 such sums as may be necessary for fiscal year 2014 and 

16 each of the succeeding 5 years.’’. 

Æ 


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