2023 Colorado Revised Statutes › Title 22 - EDUCATION (§§ 22-1-101 — 22-108-109) › TEACHERS (§§ 22-60-101 — 22-69-106) › Article 60.5 - COLORADO EDUCATOR LICENSING ACT (§§ 22-60.5-101 — 22-60.5-404) › Part 3 - PRINCIPALS AND ADMINISTRATORS (§§ 22-60.5-301 — 22-60.5-313) › Section 22-60.5-301 - Types of principal licenses issued - term

(1)
The department of education is designated as the sole agency authorized to issue the following principal licenses to persons of good moral character:
(a)
Initial principal license.
(I)
The department of education, in its discretion, may issue an initial principal license to any applicant who:
(A)
Holds an earned baccalaureate degree from an accepted institution of higher education;
(B)
Has completed an approved program of preparation for principals;
(C)
Has completed three or more years of successful experience working with students as a licensed or certificated professional in a public or nonpublic elementary or secondary school in this state or another state or has three or more years of experience working with students as a professional in a nonpublic school;
(D)
Has demonstrated professional competencies in subject areas as specified by rule and regulation of the state board of education pursuant to section
22-60.5-303
.
(II)
An initial principal license is valid in any school districts or nonpublic schools that provide, or charter schools that provide or participate in, an approved induction program for principals or have obtained a waiver of the approved induction program requirement pursuant to section
22-60.5-114(2)
. Any initial principal license issued pursuant to this subsection (1)(a) is valid for a period of three years after the date of issuance and is renewable only once for an additional period of three years; except that, if an initial principal licensee is unable to complete an induction program for reasons other than incompetence, the state board of education may renew the licensee's initial principal license for one or more additional three-year periods upon the initial licensee's showing of good cause for inability to complete an approved induction program.
(b)
Professional principal license.
(I)
Except as otherwise provided in subsection (1)(b)(I.5) of this section, the department of education may, in its discretion, issue a professional principal license to any applicant who:
(A)
Holds an earned master's degree from an accepted institution of higher education;
(B)
Holds a valid initial principal license; and
(C)
Has completed an approved induction program for principals and has been recommended for licensure by the school districts, charter school, the institute, or nonpublic school that provided such induction program; except that the applicant need not complete an approved induction program as an initial principal licensee if the applicant previously completed an induction program while employed under an emergency authorization or a principal authorization or if the school district or charter school in which the applicant is employed has obtained a waiver of the induction program requirement pursuant to section
22-60.5-114(2)
. If the applicant is employed by a school district, charter school, or nonpublic school that has obtained a waiver of the induction program requirement, the applicant shall demonstrate completion of any requirements specified in the school district's, charter school's, the institute's, or nonpublic school's plan for support, assistance, and training of initially licensed educators.
(I.5)
The department of education may issue a professional principal license to an applicant who meets the requirements specified in section
22-60.5-111(4)(c)(II) or (14)(e)(II)
.
(II)
(A)
Except as otherwise provided in subsection (1)(b)(II)(B) of this section, any professional principal license issued pursuant to this subsection (1)(b)(II)(A) is valid for a period of seven years after the date of issuance and is renewable pursuant to section
22-60.5-110
. If, as of September 7, 2021, an individual has partially completed the individual's five-year professional principal licensing period, the licensing period for that individual is extended to a seven-year period. The years that the individual already completed toward the five-year professional principal licensing period will count toward the individual's new seven-year professional principal licensing period.
(B)
Any professional principal license issued pursuant to this paragraph (b) which is held in conjunction with a master certificate pursuant to section
22-60.5-302
shall be valid for a period of seven years after the date of issuance and is renewable as provided in section
22-60.5-110
.
(2)
The state board of education is authorized to establish, by rule and regulation, such other requirements for licenses specified in subsection (1) of this section as it deems necessary to maintain and improve the quality of administration and supervision of education instructional programs in this state; except that the state board of education may not require any person applying for a professional principal license to demonstrate professional competencies.
(3)
(a)
The department of education may, at its discretion, issue an initial principal license provided for in paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of this section to any applicant from another state or country whose qualifications meet or exceed the standards of the state board of education for the issuance of an initial principal license.
(b)
(I)
The department of education may issue a professional principal license to any applicant from another state if:
(A)
The applicant holds a license or certificate from that state that is comparable to a principal license in this state and the standards for the issuance of such license or certificate meet or exceed the standards of the state board of education for the issuance of a professional principal license; and
(B)
The applicant has had at least three years of continuous, successful, evaluated experience as a principal in an established elementary or secondary school and can provide documentation of such experience on forms provided by the department.
(II)
An applicant for a professional principal license pursuant to this paragraph (b) need not have:
(A)
Completed an approved induction program for principals;
(B)
Held an initial principal license pursuant to paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of this section; or
(C)
Demonstrated professional competencies in subject areas as specified by rule of the state board of education pursuant to section
22-60.5-303
.
(4)
The state board of education is authorized to enter into interstate reciprocal agreements in which the department of education agrees to issue initial principal licenses to persons licensed as principals in other states.
(5)
Repealed.
Amended by 2021 Ch. 245,§4, eff. 9/7/2021.
Amended by 2019 Ch. 37,§11, eff. 8/2/2019.
Amended by 2018 Ch. 97,§11, eff. 8/8/2018.
L. 91: Entire article added, p. 498, § 1, effective June 6. L. 97: (1)(a)(I)(C), (1)(a)(II), (1)(b)(I)(C), and (2) amended, pp. 1661, 1663, 1664, §§ 12, 18, 23, effective June 5. L. 2000: (3) amended, p. 1105, § 3, effective August 2. L. 2002: IP(1)(b)(I) amended, p. 1021, § 35, effective June 1. L. 2004: (1)(b)(I) amended and (1)(b)(I.5) added, p.1280, § 5, effective May 28. L. 2005: IP(1)(a)(I), (1)(a)(II), (1)(b)(I), (3)(a), (3)(b)(II)(B), and (4) amended, p. 184, § 20, effective April 7. L. 2006: (5) repealed, p. 638, § 54, effective August 7. L. 2018: (1)(a)(II), IP(1)(b)(I), (1)(b)(I)(C) amended, (SB 18-160), ch. 765, p. 765, § 11, effective August 8. L. 2019: (1)(a)(I)(C), (1)(a)(II), and (1)(b)(I)(C) amended, (SB 19-069), ch. 127, p. 127, § 11, effective August 2. L. 2021: (1)(b)(II)(A) amended, (HB 21-1104), ch. 1320, p. 1320, § 4, effective September 7.
2021 Ch. 245, was passed without a safety clause. See Colo. Const. art. V, § 1(3).
For the legislative declaration in HB 21-1104, see section 1 of chapter 245, Session Laws of Colorado 2021.