I 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 848 
To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to improve 
teacher and principal effectiveness, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 10, 2015 
Mr. POLIS (for himself and Mrs. DAVIS of California) 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 improve teacher and principal effectiveness, 
and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Great Teaching and 
Leading for Great Schools Act of 2015’’. 
SEC. 2. STATE APPLICATION. 
Section 2112(b) of the Elementary and Secondary 
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6612(b)) is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (5)(B), by inserting ‘‘and 
principals’’ after ‘‘to ensure that teachers’’; 
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(2) by amending paragraph (6) to read as fol-
lows: 
‘‘(6) A description of how the State educational 
agency will encourage the development of proven, in-
novative strategies to deliver intensive professional 
development programs that are both cost-effective 
and easily accessible, such as— 
‘‘(A) 
strategies 
that 
involve 
delivery 
through the use of technology, peer networks, 
and distance learning; 
‘‘(B) providing protected release time for 
educators to engage in collaborative team-based 
learning multiple times per week or several 
hours per week; and 
‘‘(C) leveraging resources such as teaching 
or leadership standards, formative assessments, 
teacher portfolio processes, evidence-based in-
structional practices, and educator development 
protocols to guide educator learning.’’; 
(3) by amending paragraph (7)(A) to read as 
follows: 
‘‘(7)(A) A description of how the State edu-
cational agency will ensure compliance with the re-
quirements for professional development activities 
described in section 9101 and— 
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‘‘(i) include educator input, including 
that of teachers and principals, in the de-
velopment, implementation, and revision of 
the system of professional learning; 
‘‘(ii) conduct a formal evaluation sys-
tem under section 2113(c)(5) to evaluate 
the effectiveness of the system of profes-
sional learning described in paragraph (13) 
using funds under this subpart and sub-
part 2; and 
‘‘(iii) prepare, support, utilize, and 
incentivize internal principals, assistant 
principals, teacher leaders, coaches, or con-
tent experts to facilitate school-based pro-
fessional learning.’’; 
(4) in paragraph (8)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘teachers’’ and inserting 
‘‘educators’’; and 
(B) by inserting ‘‘and aligned with the in-
dividualized professional development goals in-
formed by educator evaluations described in 
section 2113(c)(4)’’ after ‘‘subpart 2’’; and 
(5) by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph: 
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‘‘(13) A description of how the State edu-
cational agency will assist schools that choose to cre-
ate and implement the teacher and principal evalua-
tion system described in section 2113(c)(4).’’. 
SEC. 3. STATE USE OF FUNDS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 2113(a)(3) of the Ele-
mentary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
6613(a)(3)) is amended by adding at the end the following 
‘‘, except that not less than 50 percent of such funds shall 
be used for programs and activities to improve principal 
effectiveness’’. 
(b) STATE ACTIVITIES.—Section 2113(c) of the Ele-
mentary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
6613(c)) is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (1)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘(1)’’ and inserting ‘‘(1) 
CERTIFICATION AND LICENSURE.—’’; 
(B) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘; 
and’’ and inserting a semicolon; 
(C) by amending subparagraph (B) to read 
as follows: 
‘‘(B) teacher certification (including recer-
tification) or licensing requirements are aligned 
with challenging State academic content stand-
ards, such as— 
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‘‘(i) implementing educator testing for 
subject matter knowledge; and 
‘‘(ii) implementing educator testing 
for State certification or licensing, includ-
ing rigorous, performance-based assess-
ments that reflect the authentic work of 
teachers or principals and are consistent 
with title II of the Higher Education Act 
of 1965;’’; and 
(D) by striking subparagraph (C) and in-
serting the following: 
‘‘(C) funding projects that promote reci-
procity of teacher and principal certification or 
licensing between or among States, except that 
no reciprocity agreement developed under this 
subparagraph or developed using funds pro-
vided under this part may lead to the weak-
ening of any State teaching certification or li-
censing requirement; 
‘‘(D) teacher and principal licensure sys-
tems that provide a single license for entry into 
the profession for candidates who complete a 
State-approved teacher or principal preparation 
program (whether the program is based at an 
institution of higher education, local educational 
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agency, or non-profit organization) and dif-
ferentiate between— 
‘‘(i) a preliminary license for new 
teachers or principals focused on a dem-
onstration of the competencies necessary to 
teach or lead in a classroom or school; and 
‘‘(ii) a professional license based on 
effectiveness, which may include data from 
robust teacher and principal evaluation 
systems; and 
‘‘(E) programs are carried out that estab-
lish, expand, or improve alternative routes for 
State certification of teachers and principals, 
especially in the areas of mathematics and 
science, for highly qualified individuals with a 
baccalaureate or master’s degree, including 
mid-career professionals from other occupa-
tions, paraprofessionals, former military per-
sonnel, and recent college or university grad-
uates with records of academic distinction who 
demonstrate the potential to become highly ef-
fective teachers or principals.’’; 
(2) in paragraph (2)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘(2)’’ and inserting ‘‘(2) 
SUPPORT OF TEACHERS AND PRINCIPALS.—’’; 
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(B) in the matter preceding subparagraph 
(A)— 
(i) by striking ‘‘teachers or prin-
cipals’’ and inserting ‘‘teachers, principals, 
and principal managers’’; and 
(ii) by inserting ‘‘induction or’’ before 
‘‘support for teachers and principals new 
to their profession’’; 
(C) in subparagraph (A)— 
(i) by striking ‘‘teacher’’ the first 
place it appears and inserting ‘‘educator’’; 
(ii) by inserting ‘‘coaching,’’ before 
‘‘team teaching’’; and 
(iii) by striking ‘‘; and’’ and inserting 
a semicolon; 
(D) in subparagraph (B)— 
(i) by striking ‘‘standards or assess-
ments’’ and inserting ‘‘standards, assess-
ments, or evaluation systems’’; 
(ii) by striking ‘‘teachers’’ and insert-
ing ‘‘educators’’; and 
(iii) by striking the period at the end 
and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(E) by adding at the end the following new 
subparagraph: 
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‘‘(C) invest in the capacity of principals, 
assistant principals, and teacher leaders to 
evaluate and provide professional learning op-
portunities to teachers, and in the capacity of 
principal managers to evaluate and provide pro-
fessional learning opportunities for school lead-
ers, such as training principal managers, prin-
cipals, assistant principals, and teacher leaders 
on— 
‘‘(i) a shared vision of teacher or prin-
cipal performance based on the State’s 
teaching or leadership standards; 
‘‘(ii) the use of teacher or principal 
evaluation and support systems; 
‘‘(iii) techniques for observing teacher 
or principal practice, including how to inte-
grate various data sources into a com-
prehensive assessment of educator effec-
tiveness; 
‘‘(iv) methods for providing strong 
coaching and feedback; and 
‘‘(v) the identification of differentiated 
learning, including the creation of profes-
sional learning communities opportunities 
as part of a targeted growth plan.’’; 
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(3) by striking paragraph (3) and redesignating 
paragraph (4) as paragraph (3); 
(4) by amending paragraph (3), as so redesig-
nated to read as follows: 
‘‘(3) RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION.—Devel-
oping and implementing mechanisms to assist local 
educational agencies and schools in effectively re-
cruiting and retaining effective educators, including 
teachers, specialists in core academic subjects, teach-
er leaders, assistant principals, principals, and pupil 
services personnel, such as— 
‘‘(A) developing comprehensive perform-
ance-based compensation systems as part of the 
local educational agency’s broader human cap-
ital management system; 
‘‘(B) strategies that provide differentiated 
pay and recognition for teachers and principals 
based on effectiveness and increased respon-
sibilities such as— 
‘‘(i) incentives to work in high-need 
academic 
subjects 
or 
in 
high-poverty 
schools and districts; 
‘‘(ii) strategic staffing models that 
allow principals to bring a small team of 
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effective educators to a low-performing 
school; 
‘‘(iii) increased autonomy in decision-
making; or 
‘‘(iv) opportunities to lead professional 
development activities for other educators; 
and 
‘‘(C) a center that— 
‘‘(i) serves as a statewide clearing-
house for the recruitment and placement of 
kindergarten, elementary school, and sec-
ondary school teachers; and 
‘‘(ii) establishes and carries out pro-
grams to improve educator recruitment 
and retention within the State.’’; and 
(5) by striking paragraphs (5) through (18) 
and inserting after paragraph (3), as so redesig-
nated, the following new paragraphs: 
‘‘(4) TEACHER EVALUATIONS.—Developing and 
implementing an evaluation and support system for 
teachers that is based on multiple measures, has not 
less than 3 levels of performance ratings for teach-
ers, and includes the following minimum require-
ments: 
‘‘(A) STUDENT ACADEMIC OUTCOMES.— 
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‘‘(i) STUDENT ACADEMIC GROWTH.— 
A factor of the evaluation is based on stu-
dent academic growth with respect to the 
State’s academic standards, as measured 
by— 
‘‘(I) student learning gains on 
the State’s academic assessments ad-
ministered under section 1111, which 
may be used in combination with 
other valid and reliable academic out-
come measures with respect to the 
State’s academic standards for the 
school’s students, including students 
in each of the subgroups described in 
section 1111(b)(2)(C)(v)(II) (such as 
student learning objectives, or teacher, 
school, or local educational agency as-
sessments, or student work (such as 
papers, portfolios, and projects)); or 
‘‘(II) for grades and subjects not 
covered by the State’s academic as-
sessments, another valid and reliable 
assessment 
of 
student 
academic 
achievement, as long as the assess-
ment is used consistently by the local 
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