II 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 837 

To develop a generation of school leaders who are committed to, and effective 

in, increasing student achievement and to ensure that all low-income, 

under-performing schools are led by effective school leaders who are 

well-prepared to foster student success. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 9, 2007 

Mrs. CLINTON introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To develop a generation of school leaders who are committed 

to, and effective in, increasing student achievement and 

to ensure that all low-income, under-performing schools 

are led by effective school leaders who are well-prepared 

to foster student success. 

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 ‘‘Improving the Leader5 ship and Effectiveness of Administrators for Districts Act 

6 of 2007’’ or the ‘‘I LEAD Act of 2007’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. SCHOOL LEADERSHIP. 

2 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) In the next 5 years, the number of openings 

4 for school principals is expected to grow by 20 per5 cent and the number of principals retiring is likely 

6 to see a marked increase. The resulting principal 

7 shortage is expected to pose the greatest challenge 

8 for urban and rural local educational agencies with 

9 large concentrations of high-poverty and under-per10 forming schools, as those local educational agencies 

11 often attract the fewest new principals. 

12 (2) Literature from the American Educational 

13 Research Association concludes that school leader14 ship has significant effects on student learning. 

15 School leaders can have positive effects on student 

16 achievement, primarily by galvanizing effort around 

17 ambitious goals and by establishing conditions that 

18 support teachers and help students succeed. 

19 (3) School leaders, especially in under-per20 forming schools, are typically unprepared to foster 

21 student success, as the leaders themselves do not re22 ceive the proper support, resources, and professional 

23 development needed to become effective leaders. 

24 (4) A 2003 Public Agenda report found that 72 

25 percent of superintendents and 67 percent of prin26 cipals agree that the typical leadership training that 


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1 administrators receive does not give administrators 

2 ‘‘what it takes to run today’s school district’’. 

3 (5) State educational leaders currently lack con4 crete benchmarks against which school leaders can 

5 be measured to determine adequacy. State edu6 cational agencies and local educational agencies also 

7 lack the funds necessary to recruit, train, and main8 tain successful school leaders. 

9 (b) SCHOOL LEADERSHIP.—Section 2151(b) of the 

10 Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

11 U.S.C. 6651(b)) is amended to read as follows: 

12 ‘‘(b) SCHOOL LEADERSHIP.— 

13 ‘‘(1) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this sub14 section are— 

15 ‘‘(A) to develop a generation of school 

16 leaders who are committed to, and effective in, 

17 increasing student achievement; and 

18 ‘‘(B) to ensure that all under-performing 

19 schools are led by well-trained, well-supported, 

20 effective school leaders. 

21 ‘‘(2) NATIONAL PRINCIPAL RECRUITMENT PRO22 GRAM.— 

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary is au24 thorized to establish and carry out a national 

25 principal recruitment program to assist highVerDate Aug 31 2005 18:21 Mar 10, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S837.IS S837

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1 need local educational agencies in recruiting 

2 and training principals (including assistant 

3 principals) through such activities as— 

4 ‘‘(i) providing financial incentives to 

5 aspiring new principals; 

6 ‘‘(ii) providing stipends to principals 

7 who— 

8 ‘‘(I) have a demonstrated record 

9 of effectiveness; and 

10 ‘‘(II) mentor new principals; 

11 ‘‘(iii) carrying out professional devel12 opment programs in instructional leader13 ship and management; and 

14 ‘‘(iv) providing incentives that are ap15 propriate for teachers or individuals from 

16 other fields who want to become principals 

17 and that are effective in retaining new 

18 principals. 

19 ‘‘(B) GRANTS.—The Secretary shall carry 

20 out this paragraph by making grants, on a com21 petitive basis, to— 

22 ‘‘(i) high-need local educational agen23 cies; 

24 ‘‘(ii) consortia of high-need local edu25 cational agencies; and 


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1 ‘‘(iii) partnerships of high-need local 

2 educational agencies, nonprofit organiza3 tions, and institutions of higher education. 

4 ‘‘(3) EVALUATION AND MODEL SCHOOL LEAD5 ERSHIP ZONE IMPLEMENTATION GRANTS.— 

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

7 establish a national competitive grant program 

8 to award grants to eligible entities to enable the 

9 eligible entities— 

10 ‘‘(i) to carry out research-based eval11 uations described in subparagraph (D) ex12 amining the effectiveness of current State 

13 requirements for school leader certification 

14 or licensure in recruiting, training, and re15 taining effective school leaders who im16 prove student achievement at schools that 

17 receive funding under part A of title I; 

18 ‘‘(ii) to develop plans described in 

19 subparagraph (E) to build upon the State 

20 school leader certification or licensure 

21 process; and 

22 ‘‘(iii) to create model school leadership 

23 zones in accordance with subparagraph (F) 

24 by implementing such plans. 


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1 ‘‘(B) AMOUNT OF GRANTS.—The amount 

2 of a grant under this paragraph shall be based 

3 on a formula developed by the Secretary that 

4 takes into consideration— 

5 ‘‘(i) the size of the school-age popu6 lation served by the eligible entity; and 

7 ‘‘(ii) the availability of additional re8 sources to support the implementation of 

9 the evaluation and the changes to the 

10 State certification or licensure process. 

11 ‘‘(C) APPLICATION.—An eligible entity de12 siring a grant under this paragraph shall sub13 mit an application to the Secretary at such 

14 time, in such manner, and containing such in15 formation as the Secretary may require. The 

16 application shall demonstrate that— 

17 ‘‘(i) the results of the evaluation 

18 under subparagraph (D) will be used to 

19 drive changes in the State certification or 

20 licensure process if necessary; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) the eligible entity is well-posi22 tioned to implement a successful evalua23 tion, as determined by— 

24 ‘‘(I) a strong commitment to 

25 school leadership among the local 


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1 school superintendents, teachers, par2 ents, and the local community, includ3 ing private sector and higher edu4 cation leaders; and 

5 ‘‘(II) an ability to leverage addi6 tional funding to carry out the evalua7 tion as well as the recommendations 

8 made as a result of the evaluation. 

9 ‘‘(D) EVALUATION.— 

10 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity 

11 receiving a grant under this paragraph 

12 shall use grant funds to contract with an 

13 external agency that is experienced in con14 ducting qualitative research to carry out a 

15 research-based evaluation of the school 

16 leader certification or licensure process in 

17 effect in the State as of the time of the 

18 evaluation, and the effect of such process 

19 on student achievement. 

20 ‘‘(ii) DEVELOPMENT.—The evaluation 

21 described in clause (i) shall be developed in 

22 collaboration with groups such as— 

23 ‘‘(I) veteran school leaders with 

24 track records of demonstrated gains 

25 in student achievement; 


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1 ‘‘(II) institutions of higher edu2 cation involved with school leadership 

3 development located within the State; 

4 and 

5 ‘‘(III) organizations that rep6 resent school leaders. 

7 ‘‘(iii) MEASUREMENT.—The evalua8 tion described in clause (i) shall include a 

9 measurement of the following student 

10 achievement indicators for the State: 

11 ‘‘(I) Student achievement on the 

12 State academic assessments described 

13 in section 1111(b)(3). 

14 ‘‘(II) Secondary school gradua15 tion rates, if applicable. 

16 ‘‘(III) The degree of family and 

17 community involvement in the schools. 

18 ‘‘(IV) Retention rates for school 

19 leaders, particularly in schools that 

20 have not made adequate yearly 

21 progress (as defined in section 

22 1111(b)(2)(C)) for 1 or more of the 

23 school years following the date of en24 actment of the No Child Left Behind 

25 Act of 2001 (Public Law 107–110). 


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1 ‘‘(V) School safety, including de2 creases in the number of suspensions 

3 and expulsions, and other crime re4 porting done by the schools. 

5 ‘‘(VI) Student and teacher at6 tendance rates. 

7 ‘‘(VII) Any other factor that the 

8 Secretary determines necessary. 

9 ‘‘(iv) SUBMISSION OF EVALUATION.— 

10 After the completion of the evaluation 

11 under this subparagraph, an eligible entity 

12 receiving a grant under this paragraph 

13 shall submit a copy of the evaluation to the 

14 Secretary for approval under clause (v). 

15 ‘‘(v) APPROVAL.—The Secretary shall 

16 review an evaluation submitted under 

17 clause (iv), and shall approve or reject the 

18 evaluation based on the extent the evalua19 tion meets the criteria described in this 

20 subparagraph. 

21 ‘‘(E) BUILDING UPON STATE REQUIRE22 MENTS FOR SCHOOL LEADER CERTIFICATION

23 OR LICENSURE.— 

24 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In the case of an 

25 eligible entity receiving a grant under this 


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1 paragraph whose evaluation under sub2 paragraph (D) demonstrates that the 

3 school leader licensing or certification proc4 ess of the State does not yield school lead5 ers who are effective in improving student 

6 achievement, as measured by the student 

7 achievement indicators described in sub8 paragraph (D)(iii), the eligible entity, in 

9 collaboration with the groups described in 

10 subparagraph (D)(ii), shall develop a plan 

11 to build upon the existing State certifi12 cation or licensure processes for school 

13 leaders and improve the effectiveness of 

14 school leaders based on data from the eval15 uation developed under this paragraph. 

16 ‘‘(ii) CONTENT.—The plan described 

17 under clause (i) may include the following 

18 for potential school leaders: 

19 ‘‘(I) Experimental training pro20 grams for individuals within the 

21 teaching profession and from other 

22 fields to enable individuals to become 

23 effective school leaders. 


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1 ‘‘(II) Incentives to encourage vet2 eran and new school leaders to lead 

3 low-income, under-performing schools. 

4 ‘‘(III) Ongoing professional de5 velopment programs with track 

6 records of demonstrated goals in stu7 dent achievement for all school lead8 ers. 

9 ‘‘(IV) Ongoing support, including 

10 being partnered for the first 2 years 

11 after the individual obtains a school 

12 leader license or certificate with a 

13 mentor who is a school leader with a 

14 demonstrated record of effectiveness 

15 to help design and implement a plan 

16 to improve student achievement at the 

17 new school leader’s school. 

18 ‘‘(V) Additional, specialized 

19 training for new principals leading 

20 schools with high populations of stu21 dents with disabilities or students 

22 with limited English proficiency. 

23 ‘‘(VI) Any other requirements the 

24 eligible entity developing the plan de25 termines necessary. 


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1 ‘‘(F) SCHOOL LEADERSHIP ZONE IMPLE2 MENTATION.— 

3 ‘‘(i) REQUIRED ACTIVITIES.—An eligi4 ble entity that receives a grant under this 

5 paragraph and that is required to develop 

6 a plan under subparagraph (E) shall use 

7 grant funds to create a model school lead8 ership zone by implementing the plan de9 veloped by the eligible entity in an urban 

10 high-need local educational agency partici11 pating in the consortium described in para12 graph (6)(A) and in a rural high-need local 

13 educational agency participating in such 

14 consortium. 

15 ‘‘(ii) REPORT.—Not later than 60 

16 days after the last day of the grant period, 

17 an eligible entity that is required to carry 

18 out the activity described in clause (i) shall 

19 prepare and submit to the Secretary an 

20 analysis of the effectiveness of the model 

21 school leadership zone, based on evidence 

22 of the program’s impact on the student 

23 achievement indicators described in sub24 paragraph (D)(iii). 


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1 ‘‘(4) STUDY ON EFFECTIVENESS OF SCHOOL

2 LEADERSHIP ZONES.— 

3 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 4 years 

4 after the date of enactment of the Improving 

5 the Leadership and Effectiveness of Adminis6 trators for Districts Act of 2007, the Secretary 

7 shall enter into a contract with an external 

8 agency experienced in conducting qualitative re9 search to conduct a study, in consultation with 

10 representatives of the high-need local edu11 cational agencies participating in the school 

12 leadership zones described in this subsection, 

13 evaluating the effectiveness of the school leader14 ship zones developed under paragraph (3)(F) in 

15 the recruitment, training, and retraining of 

16 school leaders, as well as the effects of such 

17 zones on student achievement, as compared to 

18 the effectiveness of school leaders at similar 

19 schools served by local educational agencies not 

20 participating in the school leadership zones de21 scribed in this subsection. 

22 ‘‘(B) CRITERIA FOR EVALUATION.—The 

23 criteria for the evaluation under subparagraph 

24 (A) shall be based on the student achievement 

25 indicators described in paragraph (3)(D)(iii). 


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1 ‘‘(5) GRANTS FOR REPLICATING SCHOOL LEAD2 ERSHIP ZONES AND AMENDING SCHOOL LEADER

3 CERTIFICATION OR LICENSURE REQUIREMENTS.— 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

5 award a grant to each eligible entity that re6 ceived a grant under paragraph (3) and suc7 cessfully created a model school leadership zone, 

8 as determined by the study under paragraph 

9 (4), to enable the eligible entity to use the data 

10 and research gathered and analyzed by the Sec11 retary under paragraph (4) to revise the school 

12 leader certification or licensure process of the 

13 State in order to replicate the practices of the 

14 model school leadership zone in other local edu15 cational agencies within the State. 

16 ‘‘(B) APPLICATION.—An eligible entity 

17 that received a grant under paragraph (3) and 

18 that desires to receive a grant under this para19 graph shall submit an application to the Sec20 retary at such time, in such manner, and con21 taining such information as the Secretary may 

22 require. 

23 ‘‘(C) AMOUNT OF GRANT.—In determining 

24 the amount of a grant under this paragraph, 

25 the Secretary shall increase the grant amount 


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1 for each eligible entity that created a successful 

2 model school leadership zone under paragraph 

3 (3)(G) that also demonstrated significant posi4 tive impact on student achievement. 

5 ‘‘(D) REPORT.—Not later than 60 days 

6 after the last day of the grant period, an eligi7 ble entity receiving a grant under this para8 graph shall prepare and submit to the Secretary 

9 a report regarding the effectiveness of the pro10 gram under this paragraph. 

11 ‘‘(6) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

12 ‘‘(A) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligi13 ble entity’ means a State educational agency 

14 working in partnership with a consortium of 

15 high-need local educational agencies, which con16 sortium shall include not less than 1 rural high17 need local educational agency and not less than 

18 1 urban high-need local educational agency. 

19 ‘‘(B) SCHOOL LEADER.—The term ‘school 

20 leader’ means a principal or assistant principal. 

21 ‘‘(C) UNDER-PERFORMING SCHOOL.—The 

22 term ‘under-performing school’ means an ele23 mentary school or secondary school that has 

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1 fined in section 1111(b)(2)(C), for 1 or more 

2 consecutive school years. 

3 ‘‘(7) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

4 There is authorized to be appropriated, to enable the 

5 Secretary to carry out this subsection and to award 

6 not less than a total of 10 grants under paragraphs 

7 (3) and (5) for each of 5 consecutive years, such 

8 sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 

9 2008 through 2012.’’. 

10 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 2103(b) of 

11 the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

12 U.S.C. 6603(b)) is amended by inserting ‘‘(except for sec13 tion 2151(b))’’ after ‘‘subpart 5’’. 

Æ 


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