HB 19-1002 Summary

• Creates the School Leadership Pilot Program within the Department of Education to provide embedded, experiential professional development training to Colorado public school principals in distributive and collaborative leadership practices.

• Department shall design the program during the 2019-20 budget year and begin implementation no later than July 2020, with option to contract with nonprofit entities or higher education institutions experienced in principal leadership training.

• Program must identify exemplary high-quality school principals who serve as mentors and select cohorts of principals from elementary, middle, and high schools across rural, suburban, and urban districts during the 2020-21 and 2021-22 budget years for professional development.

• Department shall award grants to employers of participating principals (both mentors and trainees) to cover costs incurred from participation, with grant amounts determined by the State Board of Education.

• Appropriates $272,929 to the Department of Education for the 2019-20 fiscal year to implement the program, and the entire program repeals effective July 1, 2022, unless continued by the General Assembly.