II 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3707 

To recruit, train, and support principals for high-need schools who are 

effective in improving student academic achievement. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

NOVEMBER 19, 2008 

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

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

A BILL 

To recruit, train, and support principals for high-need 

schools who are effective in improving student academic 

achievement. 

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 ‘‘National Principal Re5 cruitment Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. NATIONAL PRINCIPAL RECRUITMENT PROGRAM. 

7 (a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZATION.—Part A of title II of 

8 the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

9 U.S.C. 6601 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 

10 the following: 


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1 ‘‘Subpart 6—National Principal Recruitment 

2 Program 

3 ‘‘SEC. 2161. NATIONAL PRINCIPAL RECRUITMENT PRO4 GRAM. 

5 ‘‘(a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to re6 cruit, train, and support principals for high-need schools 

7 who are effective in improving student academic achieve8 ment. 

9 ‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

10 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE GRANTEE.—The term ‘eligible 

11 grantee’ means a partnership— 

12 ‘‘(A) consisting of a nonprofit organization 

13 working with a research organization and local 

14 educational agencies in States and regions 

15 across the Nation, that has a track record of 

16 selecting, training, and supporting principals; 

17 ‘‘(B) that has the capacity to engage in 

18 world-class research and evaluation with access 

19 to student-level data in all local educational 

20 agencies in the partnership needed to— 

21 ‘‘(i) do value-add analysis of academic 

22 achievement; and 

23 ‘‘(ii) correlate academic achievement 

24 gains with principal skills and characteris25 tics; and 


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1 ‘‘(C) that may work with institutions of 

2 higher education. 

3 ‘‘(2) HIGH-NEED SCHOOL.—The term ‘high4 need school’ means a public elementary school or 

5 public secondary school (including a charter school) 

6 in which not less than 40 percent of the students en7 rolled are eligible to receive a free or reduced price 

8 lunch under the Richard B. Russell National School 

9 Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.). 

10 ‘‘(3) PRINCIPAL.—The term ‘principal’ includes 

11 an assistant principal. 

12 ‘‘(c) MULTIYEAR GRANT PROGRAM.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.— 

14 ‘‘(A) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.—The 

15 Secretary shall establish a multiyear national 

16 principal recruitment grant program to enable 

17 not more than 3 eligible grantees to carry out 

18 the activities described in paragraph (3). 

19 ‘‘(B) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants 

20 under this section, the Secretary shall give pri21 ority to at least one eligible grantee focused on 

22 urban schools and at least one eligible grantee 

23 focused on rural schools. 

24 ‘‘(2) APPLICATION.—To receive a grant under 

25 this section, an eligible grantee shall submit to the 


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1 Secretary an application at such time, in such man2 ner, and containing such information as the Sec3 retary may require. 

4 ‘‘(3) ACTIVITIES.— 

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each eligible grantee 

6 that receives a grant under this section shall 

7 use grant funds provided under this section for 

8 the following: 

9 ‘‘(i) To recruit, select, train, and sup10 port, up to the capacity of the eligible 

11 grantee, new principals for high-need 

12 schools through— 

13 ‘‘(I) a year-long preservice resi14 dency; and 

15 ‘‘(II) ongoing support and profes16 sional development. 

17 ‘‘(ii) To rigorously research, evaluate, 

18 and report on the activities described in 

19 this paragraph in order to create— 

20 ‘‘(I) a national research and 

21 knowledge base to inform the recruit22 ment, selection, and training of prin23 cipals for high-need schools; and 

24 ‘‘(II) a model of a performance25 based program under which Federal 


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1 funding to maintain and expand ac2 tivities will be contingent on a rig3 orous demonstration of impact on stu4 dent academic achievement. 

5 ‘‘(B) SPECIFIC ACTIVITIES.—The activities 

6 described in subparagraph (A)(i) shall include 

7 the following: 

8 ‘‘(i) Recruiting, selecting, and pro9 viding preservice training to individuals 

10 who— 

11 ‘‘(I) aspire to be principals in 

12 high-need schools; 

13 ‘‘(II) share the belief that all stu14 dents, regardless of background, can 

15 achieve at high levels; 

16 ‘‘(III) have knowledge of effective 

17 instruction and adult leadership, and 

18 a focus on goals and results; and 

19 ‘‘(IV) agree to sign a compact 

20 committing to serve high-need schools 

21 and to work toward substantial im22 provement in student academic 

23 achievement in the schools they will 

24 lead within approximately 5 to 6 years 

25 of their becoming principals. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) Providing training during the 

2 year-long preservice residency to selected 

3 aspiring principals that includes coaching 

4 from an effective principal, hands-on in5 structional leadership experience, and a 

6 curriculum that includes topics such as— 

7 ‘‘(I) creating and maintaining a 

8 data-driven, professional learning 

9 community within the new principal’s 

10 school; 

11 ‘‘(II) providing a climate condu12 cive to the professional development of 

13 teachers, with a focus on improving 

14 student academic achievement; 

15 ‘‘(III) using data to effectively 

16 evaluate teacher instruction and drive 

17 teacher and student learning; 

18 ‘‘(IV) managing resources and 

19 school time to improve student aca20 demic achievement; and 

21 ‘‘(V) engaging community mem22 bers, including parents, the local edu23 cational agency, and other community 

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1 sources to improve student academic 

2 achievement. 

3 ‘‘(iii) Providing additional professional 

4 development and training to the individuals 

5 described in clauses (i) and (ii) after the 

6 individuals commence work as principals of 

7 high-need schools, including a focus on— 

8 ‘‘(I) teaching and learning; 

9 ‘‘(II) school culture; and 

10 ‘‘(III) management and oper11 ations. 

12 ‘‘(iv) Developing and delivering high13 quality, differentiated, school-level support 

14 services to meet the specific needs of high15 need schools led by individuals described in 

16 clause (iii), which may include— 

17 ‘‘(I) support for data-driven de18 sign of school-wide improvement 

19 plans; 

20 ‘‘(II) support in conducting suc21 cessful school-wide assessments; and 

22 ‘‘(III) other assistance from— 

23 ‘‘(aa) content expert coaches 

24 to support professional develop25 ment; and 


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1 ‘‘(bb) data and assessment 

2 specialists. 

3 ‘‘(v) Developing and maintaining the 

4 organizational capacity needed to drive the 

5 long-term success of the efforts described 

6 in this paragraph at scale. 

7 ‘‘(4) MATCHING REQUIREMENT; SUPPLEMENT, 

8 NOT SUPPLANT.— 

9 ‘‘(A) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.—To be el10 igible to receive a grant under this section, an 

11 eligible grantee shall contribute to the activities 

12 assisted under such grant matching funds in an 

13 amount equal to not less than 100 percent of 

14 the amount of the grant. Such matching re15 quirement may be met by contributions that are 

16 in cash or in kind. Partner local educational 

17 agencies whose support contributes to the 

18 matching requirement may choose to use funds 

19 from any private source or local educational 

20 agency-determined allocation of public funding. 

21 ‘‘(B) WAIVER.—The Secretary may waive 

22 part of the matching requirement described in 

23 subparagraph (A) if— 

24 ‘‘(i) the eligible grantee demonstrates 

25 a commitment to provide an amount equal 


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1 to not less than 75 percent of the amount 

2 of the grant and provides a plan for pro3 viding the remainder of the 25 percent; or 

4 ‘‘(ii) the Secretary determines that 

5 applying the matching requirement would 

6 result in serious hardship or an inability to 

7 carry out the activities described in para8 graph (3). 

9 ‘‘(C) SUPPLEMENT, NOT SUPPLANT.— 

10 Grant funds provided under this section shall 

11 be used to supplement, and not supplant, any 

12 other Federal or State funds otherwise available 

13 to carry out the activities described in para14 graph (3). 

15 ‘‘(5) PERFORMANCE-BASED TRIGGERS OF

16 FUNDING DECISIONS.— 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.— 

18 ‘‘(i) RESEARCH, EVALUATION, AND

19 REPORTING PROGRAM.—The Secretary 

20 shall work with each eligible grantee that 

21 receives a grant under this section (includ22 ing the partner research organization) to 

23 develop a reporting schedule for a research 

24 and evaluation plan that is approved by 

25 the Secretary. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) SPECIFIC ACTIVITIES.—The re2 search and evaluation plan described in 

3 clause (i) shall accomplish the following: 

4 ‘‘(I) Assess the impact of the eli5 gible grantee’s program, including ex6 amining student academic achieve7 ment on the State academic assess8 ments and other student-level achieve9 ment data, to make possible a value10 added analysis of academic achieve11 ment gains in high-need schools led, 

12 for not less than 2 years, by prin13 cipals who have received training, de14 velopment, coaching, and support 

15 from the eligible grantee with funds 

16 made available under the grant, as 

17 compared to other schools. The as18 sessment may include an examination 

19 of retention rates of high-performing 

20 educators in high-need schools, stu21 dent attendance, and secondary school 

22 graduation rates. 

23 ‘‘(II) Identify factors that foster 

24 or hinder the successful implementa25 tion of the eligible grantee’s program. 


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1 ‘‘(III) Develop understanding of 

2 the internal and external factors, in3 cluding principal characteristics and 

4 skills, that need to be aligned in order 

5 to improve student learning, including 

6 an analysis of the impact of increased 

7 principal autonomy and account8 ability. 

9 ‘‘(IV) Rigorously evaluate the 

10 school-level support provided through 

11 the eligible grantee. 

12 ‘‘(V) Utilize the data described in 

13 subclauses (I) through (IV) to analyze 

14 progress and drive continuous pro15 gram improvement. 

16 ‘‘(VI) Generate and disseminate 

17 information for the field about what 

18 types of principal recruitment, selec19 tion, training, and supports correlate 

20 to student academic achievement 

21 gains. 

22 ‘‘(B) PERFORMANCE-BASED INCREASE.— 

23 Beginning after the end of the third full school 

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1 tion, the Secretary shall provide an increase of 

2 50 percent of the original grant amount for 

3 such eligible grantee if— 

4 ‘‘(i) the activities carried out by the 

5 eligible grantee described in subparagraph 

6 (A) demonstrate that students in high-need 

7 schools led, for not less than 2 years, by 

8 principals who have received training, de9 velopment, coaching, and support from a 

10 program carried out with funds from such 

11 grant are making more gains in academic 

12 achievement than comparable students 

13 elsewhere, as determined by the research 

14 and evaluation plan approved by the Sec15 retary under subparagraph (A)(i); and 

16 ‘‘(ii) the eligible grantee has the ca17 pacity to scale up the services of the eligi18 ble grantee. 

19 ‘‘(C) GRANT TERMINATION.—By the end 

20 of the fourth full school year in which a grant 

21 is implemented by an eligible grantee awarded 

22 a grant under this section, the Secretary shall 

23 terminate such grant if students in high-need 

24 schools led, for not less than 2 years, by prin25 cipals who have received training, development, 


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1 coaching, and support from a program carried 

2 out with funds from such grant are not making 

3 more gains in academic achievement than com4 parable students elsewhere, as determined by 

5 the research and evaluation plan approved by 

6 the Secretary under subparagraph (A)(i). 

7 ‘‘(D) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The Sec8 retary shall submit an annual report to Con9 gress on— 

10 ‘‘(i) the lessons learned through the 

11 performance-based approach to Federal 

12 funding described in this paragraph; and 

13 ‘‘(ii) the implications for ensuring a 

14 performance orientation in other Federal 

15 education programs. 

16 ‘‘(6) ANNUAL REPORT.—An eligible grantee 

17 that receives a grant under this section shall provide 

18 to Congress and the Secretary an annual report that 

19 includes— 

20 ‘‘(A) data on the number and characteris21 tics of the aspiring principals trained to lead 

22 high-need schools through the grant under this 

23 section; and 

24 ‘‘(B) levels of academic achievement 

25 growth for students in high-need schools led, 


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1 for not less than 2 years, by principals who 

2 have received training, development, coaching, 

3 and support from a program carried out with 

4 funds from such grant.’’. 

5 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 2103 of 

6 the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

7 U.S.C. 6603) is amended— 

8 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘(other than 

9 subpart 5)’’ and inserting ‘‘(other than subparts 5 

10 and 6)’’; and 

11 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(c) NATIONAL PRINCIPAL RECRUITMENT PRO13 GRAM.—There are authorized to be appropriated to carry 

14 out subpart 6 such sums as may be necessary for each 

15 of the fiscal year 2009 through 2013.’’. 

16 (c) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents in 

17 section 2 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 

18 of 1965 is amended by inserting after the item relating 

19 to section 2151 the following: 

‘‘SUBPART 6—NATIONAL PRINCIPAL RECRUITMENT PROGRAM

‘‘Sec. 2161. National Principal Recruitment Program.’’. 

Æ 


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