Research shows that school leaders play a pivotal role in school and student success, with effective principals boosting attendance, academic achievement and other educational outcomes. However, like the teacher pipeline, the staffing pipeline for principals is facing significant challenges.
A recent policy snapshot released by the Education Commission of the States (ECS) provides an explanation of current issues exacerbating staffing challenges as well as recent legislative trends and state examples of enacted and proposed laws that address factors including certification and preparation, professional development, evaluations, and financial incentives and compensation.
Throughout the country, schools are seeing high turnover rates, with about 10 percent of principals having left the profession between the 2020–21 and 2022–23 school years. Among those who remain, principals have less experience than in the past with more than 40 percent having worked in their current schools for three or fewer years; and those who are more effective are less likely to be working in schools that need them most. There also remains a lack of racial and ethnic diversity among school leaders, which ECS noted is concerning given evidence that racial diversity of principals improves outcomes for students of color.
“School leaders, specifically principals, play a pivotal role in shaping student learning outcomes,” the document states. “In the context of these challenges, and recognizing the critical influence of effective leadership on student success, many states have recently enacted policies to better recruit, support and retain principals and other school leaders.”
Between 2022 and 2024, at least 44 states considered over 225 bills related to school leadership and 47 of those bills were enacted.
California was among several states that enacted legislation aimed at better preparing school leaders. Senate Bill 1329, enacted in 2024, clarifies that the $10 million in grant funds for the Diverse Education Leaders Pipeline Initiative program are available for preliminary administrative services credential candidates. The purpose of the program is to train, place and retain diverse and culturally responsive school leaders to improve student outcomes and meet the state’s education workforce needs.
The snapshot details methods being applied in other states including professional development to support academic and reading initiatives; programs such as mentoring to support principals in their work; refining evaluation systems by examining the use of assessments in evaluation, the link between evaluation and professional development, and how evaluations influence continuing contracts; and how states are improving compensation for school leaders to address turnover in the field.