§ 116‑74.41A.  Definitions.

For the purposes of this Article, the following definitions apply:

(1) Authority or SEAA. – The State Education Assistance Authority as created in G.S. 116‑203.

(2) Commission. – The North Carolina Principal Fellows Commission.

(3) Eligible entity. – A for‑profit or nonprofit organization or an institution of higher education that has an evidence‑based plan for preparing school leaders who implement school leadership practices linked to increased student achievement.

(4) High‑need local school administrative unit. – A local school administrative unit with the majority of its schools deemed to be high‑need schools as defined in subdivision (5) of this subsection.

(5) High‑need school. – A public school that meets one or more of the following criteria:

a. Is a school identified under Part A of Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended.

b. Is a persistently low‑achieving school, as identified by the Department of Public Instruction for purposes of federal accountability.

c. A middle school containing any of grades five through eight that feeds into a high school with less than a seventy‑five percent (75%) four‑year cohort graduation rate.

d. A high school with less than a seventy‑five percent (75%) four‑year cohort graduation rate.

(6) Repealed by Session Laws 2019‑60, s. 1(x), effective July 1, 2021.

(7) Principal. – The highest administrative official in a public school building with primary responsibility for the instructional leadership, talent management, and organizational development of the school.

(8) Repealed by Session Laws 2019‑60, s. 1(x), effective July 1, 2021.

(9) Program. – The North Carolina Principal Fellows Program established pursuant to G.S. 116‑74.44.

(10) Public school. – An elementary or secondary school located in North Carolina that is operated by a local board of education, charter school board of directors, regional school board of directors, chancellor for a University of North Carolina laboratory school, an innovative school operator, or the United States government.

(11) School leader. – An individual employed in a school leadership role, including principal or assistant principal roles.

(12) Student achievement. – At the whole school level, after three years of leading a school, consistent and methodologically sound measures of:

a. Student academic achievement.

b. Aggregated individual student academic growth.

c. Additional outcomes, such as high school graduation rates, the percentage of students taking advanced‑level coursework, or the percentage of students who obtain a career‑related credential through a national business certification exam.

(13) Trust Fund. – The North Carolina Principal Fellows Trust Fund established pursuant to G.S. 116‑74.41B. (2019‑60, s. 1(l), (x); 2022‑71, s. 3.4(c).)