MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2017 Regular Session
To: Education; Appropriations
By: Senator(s) Tollison
AN ACT TO ESTABLISH A MISSISSIPPI SCHOOL LEADERS EXECUTIVE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM (SLED) TO PROVIDE A PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM FOR EDUCATORS IN K-12 SCHOOLS AND DISTRICTS AT NO COST TO THE PARTICIPANTS; TO SET CRITERIA FOR PROGRAM ELIGIBILITY; TO PROVIDE STANDARDS FOR THE PROGRAM; TO ESTABLISH A SCHOOL LEADERS EXECUTIVE DEVELOPMENT BOARD TO SELECT THE ENTITY TO DELIVER AND EVALUATE THE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Establishment of a Mississippi School Leaders Executive Assessment Program (SLED). (1) There is established a professional development program for educators, herein known as the Mississippi School Leaders Executive Development Program (SLED).
(2) The SLED Board established in Section 7 of this act shall select an independently evaluated and research-based professional development entity to deliver and provide training at no cost to educators or the district. The entity must deliver a professional development program that has had at least two (2) rigorous third-party evaluations that show the program gets statistically significant results for students on state accountability exams at multiple levels (elementary, middle and/or secondary. Novice school leaders with zero (0) to four (4) years of experience will be required to attend and veteran leaders with five (5) or more years of experience may attend. Successful completion of all components of the Mississippi (SLED) Program will renew the Standard Career Level Administrator License for veteran administrators subject to the extent of appropriations, and will result in the conversion of an Entry Level License to a Career Level Standard License. Funding for the Mississippi School Leaders Executive Development Program (SLED) shall be subject to the extent of appropriations by the Legislature.
SECTION 2. Definitions. The following words and phrases shall have the meanings ascribed in this section unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
(a) "Novice school leader" means a practicing school leader who:
(i) Possesses an administrator's license issued by the Commission on Teacher and Administrator Education, Certification and Licensure and Development;
(ii) Serves as a licensed principal or assistant principal;
(iii) Has served between zero (0) to four (4) years in a principalship position;
(b) "Veteran school leader" means a practicing school leader who:
(i) Possesses an administrator's license issued by the Commission on Teacher and Administrator Education, Certification and Licensure and Development;
(ii) Served as a licensed principal or assistant principal for five (5) years;
(iii) Has over four (4) years of experience in a school leadership position;
(c) "Independently Evaluated and Research-Based Professional Development Program" means a program that has had at least two (2) rigorous third-party evaluations that show the program gets statistically significant results for students on state accountability exams at multiple levels (elementary, middle and/or secondary). The program should include research-based principles that consist of an integrated series of focused, intensive learning opportunities with significant application experiences for school and district leaders. Programs supported by proven research provide confirmed opportunities to build leadership capacity to positively impact the school environment.
SECTION 3. Eligibility. An individual who has been appointed to a school or district leadership position within a Mississippi School District within the past four (4) years shall be required to participate beginning on or after July 1, 2017. New novice school leaders shall complete the program provided for in Section 5 of this act within three (3) years of appointment as a principal, assistant principal or becoming eligible and available.
SECTION 4. Requirements. (1) All new novice school leaders appointed to a school or district position beginning July 1, 2017, shall complete the program within a three-year period. This program will be available on a first-come, first-served basis for a minimum of two hundred (200) school leaders.
(2) The program will also be available to school leaders with five (5) or more years of experience currently in a principalship position within the state on a voluntary basis contingent upon funding by the Mississippi Legislature. Upon successful completion of the Mississippi School Leaders Executive Development Program (SLED), a certificate for licensure renewal will be awarded when all other licensure renewal requirements are complete.
(3) The establishment of SLED, in accordance with Section 1 of this act, beginning July 1, 2017, will provide a professional development program for principals with at least two (2) rigorous third-party evaluations that show the program gets statistically significant results for students on state accountability exams at multiple levels (elementary, middle and/or secondary) at no cost to the district.
(4) The Mississippi School Leaders Executive Development Program (SLED), must be completed within three (3) years of July 1, 2020. In the event that the novice school leader is unable to access the program because all available slots are filled, the administrator may request an extension of the compliance period from the School Leaders Executive Development (SLED) Board.
(5) Veteran school leaders will have the option to add an additional five (5) years to a standard license upon successful completion of the Mississippi School Leaders Executive Development Program (SLED) and all other licensure renewal requirements.
(6) Any person failing to complete the Mississippi School Leaders Executive Development Program, as the case may be, shall become immediately liable to the Mississippi Legislature for the sum of all SLED awards made to that person, plus all interest accrued at the current Stafford Loan rate at the time the person abrogates his participation in the program.
(7) Any decisions about loan repayments, deferments, and other related matters will be made by the SLED Board.
(8) The Mississippi School Leaders Executive Development Program (SLED) will begin no later than September 1, 2017.
(9) The development and implementation of the Mississippi School Leaders Executive Development Program (SLED) is contingent upon funding by the Mississippi Legislature.
SECTION 5. Program standards. (1) The Mississippi School Leaders Executive Development Program (SLED) shall be designed and offered at no cost to any individual serving in a school or district leadership role, and no cost to their employer. This independently evaluated and research-based professional development program shall be designed to aid in the development of the core school leadership standards and best practices identified in Section 5(2), (3), (4) and (5) of this act. System development funds will not be available; therefore program eligibility requires, at a minimum, an independently evaluated and research-based executive development entity that has demonstrated its efficacy in multiple states.
(2) The Mississippi School Leaders Executive Development Program (SLED) should address the magnitude of the nation's leadership challenge at scale. The program will include a rigorous, coherent and comprehensive training component. There are two (2) major elements that should be considered within the delivery approach: (a) the executive development training, and (b) an instructional coaching model. The program should have well-documented training, with a comprehensive curriculum that includes a participant manual, a library of professional books and articles, face-to-face cohort based session supported by online curriculum, a facilitator guide and tools, diagnostic and implementation tools. The program shall have demonstrated results in raising student achievement in elementary schools, middle schools, high schools, struggling schools, rural schools and in many geographical regions.
(3) Mississippi School Leadership Standards. The following research-based professional development standards are aligned with the Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium Standards (ISLLC) and will form the basis of the program. The curriculum must also include goals and standards that include the following:
(a) The knowledge and skills to think and plan strategically to create and an organizational vision around personalized student success.
(b) An understanding of standards-based systems theory and design and the ability to transfer the knowledge to the school or system leader's job as the architect of standards-based reform in the school.
(c) The ability to access and use appropriate data to inform decision-making at all levels of the system.
(d) Creating a culture of teaching and learning with an emphasis on learning.
(e) Managing resources for effective results.
(f) Collaborating, communicating, engaging and empowering others inside and outside of the organization to pursue excellence in learning.
(g) Operating in a fair and equitable manner with personal and professional integrity.
(h) Advocating for children and public education in the larger political, social, economic, legal and cultural context.
(i) Supporting professional growth of self and others through practice and inquiry.
(4) Effective practices for school leaders. Professional development provided under this section will utilize best practices from the research to address the needs of new novice and veteran school leaders as defined in Section 2(a). This includes the following:
(a) Culture and team building. Effective leaders create and support a culture of learning for all, and in so doing, build high-performing teams to maintain the culture.
(b) Data-driven organizations. While the standards-based reform movement has turned schools attention to performance and accountability, businesses have long focused on results and on looking at data to drive decisions.
(c) Importance of systems. Effective school leaders should be able to use their skills to design systems that connect with the school's and district's goals and priorities and to improve student outcomes.
(d) Instructional coaching. Effective school leaders develop coaching skills to help teachers monitor and improve their own performance in order to improve student achievement.
(e) Strategic thinking. Effective principals are able to examine their context and create a vision and strategy that is collectively shared and implemented to improve student achievement.
(5) Best practices for adult learners. The program will have current and relevant content, and be delivered in a way to increase the learning of participants consistent with best practices in adult learning. These practices include:
(a) Use of cohorts. Participation in Professional Learning Communities (PLC5).
(b) Job-embedded learning. Professional development that is grounded in the actual work that school leaders do.
(c) Use of simulations. Incorporating the use of case studies and simulations to enable participants to analyze issues and challenges and develop solutions that they can apply in their schools.
(d) Extended period of study. Implementing a process that allows principals to take small units of study as part of a comprehensive program that is delivered over an extended period of time, with a focus on research to support sustainability and increase integration of new practices.
SECTION 6. Sustainability. The Independently Evaluated and Research-Based Professional Development Program must have a sustainability component that includes coaching and follow-up experiences that are appropriately structured and that offer site-specific problem solving to enhance school and district performance to continue to develop leadership skills, and to improve student achievement.
SECTION 7. SLED Board. (1) There is created the School Leaders Executive Development Board (SLED). The board shall be composed of individuals who have established a commitment to ensuring that teachers and leaders possess the skill and knowledge necessary to lead schools effectively. The duties of the board are to provide program guidance, identify research-based professional development opportunities, select an external evaluator, and submit a report to the Mississippi Legislature on the status of the program annually in December. The SLED Board will issue certificates of completion to those leaders who successfully complete the outlined program, and make decisions about compliance and noncompliance with the process. The SLED Board will be responsible for determining the application process for participants in the program if funding is not adequate to provide the program for all eligible participants in accordance with Section 4 of this act. The SLED Board will also approve all participants selected for the program. The SLED Board will be the final authority in all matters pertaining to the operation of the program.
(2) The SLED Board shall have a chairman and vice chairman. The board shall meet when called by the chairman, but in no event fewer than three (3) times per year. The members of the board shall be compensated at the per diem rate authorized by Section 25-3-69 and reimbursed for actual and necessary expenses as authorized by Section 25-3-41. The chairman will call and notice the date and time of the first meeting to take place no later than July 15, 2017.
(3) The SLED Board shall consist of eleven (11) qualified members, to be appointed as follows:
(a) One (1) member appointed by the Governor.
(b) One (1) member appointed by the Lieutenant Governor.
(c) One (1) member appointed by the Speaker of the House.
(d) Two (2) members appointed by the State Superintendent of Public Education, one (1) each from the State Board of Education and Educator Licensure Commission.
(e) One (1) member appointed by the Mississippi Association of School Administrators (MASA).
(f) One (1) member appointed by the Mississippi Association of School Superintendents (MASS).
(4) All controversies involving the issuance of a Mississippi School Leaders Executive Development Program (SLED) certificate of completion shall be heard by the SLED Board.
(5) All controversies involving the renewal of a certificate shall be heard by the commission, as defined in Section 37-3-2 (10).
SECTION 8. Program costs. All costs and expenses for preparing and conducting the Mississippi School Leaders Executive Development Program (SLED) provided in this act shall be paid out of any funds which are made available upon appropriation by the Legislature.
SECTION 9. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2017.