GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 1991

CHAPTER 869
HOUSE BILL 1361

AN ACT TO CREATE AN EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP TASK FORCE TO IDENTIFY HOW TO BEST SELECT, TRAIN, EVALUATE, ASSESS, AND REGULATE THE STATE'S EDUCATIONAL LEADERS.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

Section 1.  Establishment and Purpose. There is established the Educational Leadership Task Force. The purpose of the Task Force is to identify how to best select, train, assess, and regulate persons to become competent, motivated, and trusted education leaders. The term "education leaders"includes superintendents, central office program directors, principals, and assistant principals.
Sec. 2.  Membership.  The Task Force shall consist of 18 members.  Task Force members shall receive per diem, subsistence, and travel allowances in accordance with G.S. 138-5, 138-6, or 120-3.1, as appropriate.  Appointments to the Task Force shall be made within 30 days of ratification of this legislation.  Except as otherwise provided, if a vacancy occurs in the membership, the appointing authority shall appoint another person to serve for the balance of the unexpired term. Appointments shall be made as follows:
(1)	Two members of the State Board of Education appointed by the State Board chair.  One of these two members shall be designated cochair of the Task Force by the State Board chair.
(2)	Two members of the Board of Governors of The University of North Carolina appointed by the chair of that board.  One of these two members shall be designated cochair of the Task Force by the chair of the Board of Governors.
(3)	Two Senate members appointed by the President Pro Tempore.
(4)	Two House members appointed by the Speaker of the House.
(5)	One dean of a school of education appointed by the President of The University of North Carolina.
(6)	Two representatives, one from each of two professional schools, to be appointed by the President of The University of North Carolina.  Professional schools may include schools of Business, Public Administration, Law, or Medicine.
(7)	The State Superintendent of Public Instruction, or a designee appointed by the Superintendent.  The appointment shall remain for the duration of the Task Force with the individual who is Superintendent at the time of the creation of the Task Force.
(8)	The Teacher of the Year, chosen by the Department of Public Instruction through its Teacher of the Year program.  The appointment shall remain for the duration of the Task Force with the individual who is Teacher of the Year at the time of the creation of the Task Force.  If that person is unable to serve, a North Carolina teacher chosen by the cochairs shall fill the vacancy.
(9)	The Principal of the Year, chosen by the Department of Public Instruction through its Principal of the Year program.  The appointment shall remain for the duration of the Task Force with the individual who is Principal of the Year at the time of the creation of the Task Force.  If that person is unable to serve, a North Carolina principal chosen by the cochairs shall fill the vacancy.
(10)	The Superintendent of the Year, chosen by the North Carolina Association of School Superintendents through its Superintendent of the Year program.  The appointment shall remain for the duration of the Task Force with the individual who is the Superintendent of the Year at the time of the creation of the Task Force.  If that person is unable to serve, a North Carolina superintendent chosen by the cochairs shall fill the vacancy.
(11)	One member to represent business and industry appointed by the Governor.
(12)	One local school board member appointed by the Chair of the State Board.
(13)	One parent of a public school child appointed by the State Superintendent of Public Instruction.
Sec. 3.  Cochairs.  The cochairs shall belong to different political parties.  The State Board chair and the chair of the Board of Governors shall consult to determine which of them shall appoint the cochair who belongs to the party to which the majority of registered voters belong and which of them shall appoint the cochair who belongs to the party to which the largest minority of registered voters belong.
Sec. 4.  Staff.  The Task Force cochairs may contract for professional, clerical, or consultant services.  Facilitation of the work of the Task Force may be contracted to an individual who has an excellent national reputation in the area of educational leadership and modern management principles.  Professional and clerical staff positions for the Task Force may be filled by persons whose services are loaned to the Task Force to fulfill the work of the Task Force.
Sec. 5.  Space and Equipment.  The General Administration of The University of North Carolina shall provide meeting rooms, telephone, office space, equipment, and supplies to the Task Force without charge.
Sec. 6.  Duties, Issues for Study.  The Task Force shall study issues related to the training of education leaders, including superintendents, central office program directors, principals, and assistant principals.  Issues for study by the Task Force shall include:
(1)	Key characteristics of educational leadership, including the knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary to lead schools to high gains in student learning;
(2)	Entrance standards, methods to recruit and screen applicants, curriculum design, instructional delivery, and the quality controls needed to continually improve educational leadership programs;
(3)	Comprehensive strategies to restructure administrator preparation.  The Task Force shall investigate varied methods of instructional delivery to be used in educational leadership programs including collaborative, interdisciplinary, and practice-based models, and use of the case method;
(4)	Incentives, including stipends and other methods, to attract the best possible candidates to educational leadership programs;
(5)	Methods to restructure university resources to assure cost efficiency and quality.  Educational leadership programs provided by any institution shall be of the highest priority to that institution;
(6)	Collaborative roles of those contributing to educational leadership training including: the universities, local school systems, the Department of Public Instruction, the Principals Executive Program, business and industry, and the professional associations;
(7)	Consideration of certification, licensure, and other methods to regulate the profession and to promote excellence in educational leadership.  Credentials awarded should be based on performance which exhibits knowledge of State programs, State standards, and effective leadership skills;
(8)	Whether certification or licensing should be periodically reevaluated throughout an education leader's career;
(9)	Use of assessment centers, evaluation panels, testing, and practice-based measures to evaluate the quality of practicing and potential education leaders;
(10)	Methods to maintain rigorous, high quality professional development that may continue throughout the education leader's career;
(11)	Hiring practices of local school administrative units and recommendations to encourage the identification and recruitment of quality candidates who demonstrate leadership potential.  Active recruitment of minorities and females;
(12)	Developmental training and support for first year principals, assistant principals, and superintendents; and
(13)	Supply and demand trends for administrators over the next 10 years.
Sec. 7.  Report. The Task Force shall make its final report and recommendations to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee no later than February 15, 1993, and shall terminate on that date.
Sec. 8.  Upon the request of the Task Force, all State departments and agencies, all local governments and their subdivisions, and all institutions approved to train public school administrators shall furnish the Task Force with any information in their possession or available to them.
Sec. 9.  Of the funds appropriated to the Department of Public Education for aid to local school administrative units for the 1992-93 fiscal year, up to the sum of sixty thousand dollars ($60,000) shall be used to conduct the work of the Task Force.  Of the funds appropriated to the Department of Public Instruction for the 1992-93 fiscal year, up to the sum of sixty thousand dollars ($60,000) shall be used to conduct the work of the Task Force.
Section 10.  Effective upon ratification.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 7th day of July, 1992.

James C. Gardner
President of the Senate

Daniel Blue, Jr.
Speaker of the House of Representatives