Florida Educational Leadership Standards Explained
The Florida Educational Leadership Standards (FPLS) serve as the core expectations for effective school administrators in the state. These standards are designed to promote the academic success and well-being of all students by guiding the actions and decisions of school leaders. They provide a framework for ethical behavior, vision and mission development, management, continuous school improvement, collaboration, professional learning, leadership expertise, and community engagement.
Purpose and Structure of the Standards
The primary goals for the revision process were to align the standards with current research and policy, and clearly delineate between the roles and responsibilities of assistant principals and principals.
Purpose
The fundamental purpose of the Florida Educational Leadership Standards is to guide school administrators in creating and maintaining effective learning systems. These standards define the essential knowledge, skills, and dispositions that leaders need to foster a positive and productive school environment.
Structure
The standards are structured to address various aspects of school leadership, providing a comprehensive framework for administrators at all levels. These standards set forth Florida's core expectations for effective school administrators.
Key Standards and Their Components
The Florida Educational Leadership Standards encompass a range of critical areas, each with specific expectations for school administrators.
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Standard 1: Ethical Norms
All school administrators are expected to uphold ethical norms, ensuring integrity and fairness in their leadership.
Standard 2: Vision and Mission
High performing leaders have a personal vision for their institution and the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to develop, articulate, and implement a shared vision that is supported by the governing body and the community to promote the academic success and well-being of all students.
- Developing a Shared Vision:
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- Implementing the Vision:
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Standard 3: Management, and Safety
- Assistant principals:
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- School principals:
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Standard 4: Continuous School Improvement
High performing leaders plan effectively, use critical thinking and problem solving techniques, and collect and analyze data for continuous institutional improvement to promote the academic success and well-being of all students.
- Planning for Improvement:
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- Data Analysis and Implementation:
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Standard 5: Collaboration
All school administrators are expected to foster collaboration among staff, students, parents, and the community.
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Standard 6: Recruitment and Professional Learning
High performing leaders recruit, select, nurture and, where appropriate, retain effective personnel, develop mentor and partnership programs, and design and implement comprehensive professional growth plans for all staff - paid and volunteer to promote the academic success and well-being of all students.
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- Recruitment and Selection:
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- Professional Learning:
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Standard 7: Building Leadership Expertise
- Assistant principals:
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- School principals:
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Standard 8: and Community Engagement
High Performing leaders understand, respond to, and influence the personal, political, social, economic, legal, and cultural relationships in the classroom, institution, and community at large to promote the academic success and well-being of all students.
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Historical Context and Development
The Florida Principal Leadership Standards (FPLS) were initially established in 2005 through State Board of Education Rule 6A-5.080, F.A.C. These standards were revised in 2011 to incorporate contemporary research on school leadership. In 2021, a committee of 34 educational leaders drafted new leadership standards using feedback from over 160 stakeholders across the state.
Professional Learning and Renewal Requirements
The new requirement will not add to the total 120 Inservice point requirement but specifies that a portion of the points align with leadership standards.
SCHOOL‐BASED ADMINISTRATORS may satisfy this requirement from various principal and assistant principal meetings offered throughout the year and/or previous years as long as completed within the five‐year validity period of the certificate you are renewing. NON SCHOOL‐BASED ADMINISTRATORS who have not participated in and/or not completed one of the district’s leadership pipeline programs between 7/1/2020 - present may choose from the two options below to satisfy this new requirement. You will not need to use the two options available for non‐school based administrators shown above. The Professional Learning Standards & Support Department is currently identifying a list of these courses in LAB for you. They expect to accomplish this task by the end of October. Courses completed in FELS are not bankable.
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For teaching certificate renewals after July 2014, six semester hours of college credit to include at least one (1) semester hour in teaching students with disabilities (SWD) must be earned during each renewal period. If you are planning to use college coursework to meet this requirement, the course must not be one taken as part of your educational leadership degree that originally qualified you for your certificate in that area. When you begin the renewal application process, you will need to include a copy of your transcript.
Integration of Technology
High performing leaders plan and implement the integration of technological and electronic tools in teaching, learning, management, research, and communication responsibilities.
Diversity and Inclusion
High Performing leaders understand, respond to, and influence the personal, political, social, economic, legal, and cultural relationships in the classroom, institution, and community at large.
Learning, Accountability, and Assessment
High performing leaders promote a positive learning culture, provide an effective instructional program, monitor the success of all students in the learning environment, and align the curriculum, instruction and assessment processes to promote effective student performance.
Student Personnel Services
High performing leaders ensure an efficient, coordinated and effective environment for students both in and out of the classroom that focuses on student success and satisfaction.
Addressing Students with Disabilities
The Florida Principal Leadership Standards do not specifically address required knowledge of working with students with disabilities. However, the standards state that effective school leaders achieve results on the school’s student-learning goals based on state academic standards and the district’s curricula where student-learning results are evidenced by student performance on statewide assessments, district-determined assessments, international assessments, and other indicators of student success.
A uniform core curriculum is established and must be provided by each institution with an approved program. The Uniform Core Curriculum must address training teachers on instructional strategies appropriate for the instruction of students with disabilities.
A 2013 Florida law revised requirements for state-approved educator preparation programs. It provides a new accountability framework for the approval of teacher preparation programs that is based on performance outcome metrics. It requires the Commissioner of Education to determine continued approval of each program based on specific metrics including placement rate data, retention rate data, student performance by subgroups, and critical teacher shortages. It requires each state-approved teacher preparation program to include in its uniform core curricula: Florida Educator Accomplished Practices, state-adopted student content standards, reading instruction, content literacy and mathematical practices, strategies for the instruction of English language learners and students with disabilities, and school safety.
In addition, a 2013 Florida law revised requirements for educator certification. Individuals enrolled in state-approved and non-state-approved teacher preparation programs must have training on strategies appropriate for working with students with disabilities.
Educator Preparation and Certification
A Florida State Board of Education rule sets forth requirements for approval of two levels of school leadership programs. Level I programs lead to initial certification in educational leadership for the purpose of preparing individuals to serve as school leaders who may aspire to the school principalship. Level II programs build upon Level I training and lead to certification in School Principal.
Candidate must pass all three portions of the Florida Teacher Certification Examination (FTCE) including the FTCE Subject Area Examinations, FTCE Professional Education Test, and FTCE General Knowledge Test.
Program Evaluation and Outcomes
State evaluation of Educational Leadership Preparation Programs is standards-based and rates individual programs on three elements: core curriculum content, candidate performance, and continuous improvement. Criteria 2.3 and 3.2 of the Evaluation of Educational Leadership Preparation Programs based on the approval standards adopted pursuant to Rule 6A-5.081, F.A.C.
Mentoring and Coaching
State policy does not require all new teachers to receive induction support. Is coaching/mentoring required for all new principals/administrators/ superintendents and for how many years?
Professional Development
In 2010 the State Board of Education approved an amendment to the Master Inservice Plan Requirements that included new standards for teacher professional development. The Program consists of a collaborative network of state and national professional leadership organizations to respond to instructional leadership needs throughout the state. It supports the human-resource development needs of principals, principal leadership teams, and candidates for principal leadership positions using Florida Principal Leadership Standards and standards adopted by the Southern Regional Education Board and the National Staff Development Council.
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