Senate backs five‑year principal leadership pathway with private partners
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Summary
Senate Bill 4, as amended, creates a five‑year principal leadership pathway that includes mentorship, partnership training with the Kentucky Chamber Foundation and Truist, and a KDE‑approved provider process; the Senate adopted a committee substitute and passed the bill by roll call.
The Kentucky Senate on Feb. 9 passed Senate Bill 4, a five‑year principal leadership program that the sponsor described as a way to strengthen school building leadership and help retain teachers. The bill was presented on the floor by the senator from Bourbon and passed after adoption of a committee substitute that changes the named funding entity to the Kentucky Chamber Foundation.
Senate Bill 4 sets out a five‑year pathway for new principals: years 1–2 provide foundational principal training and a mentorship pairing administered with assistance from the Kentucky Department of Education; year 3 is treated as a gap year with continued continuing education options; year 4 expands participation in an existing Truist leadership training in partnership with the Kentucky Chamber (now the Kentucky Chamber Foundation under the committee substitute); and year 5 requires KDE‑approved high‑level leadership provider status under a set of metrics determined by KDE.
The sponsor explained that the program builds on a long‑standing public‑private partnership with the Kentucky Chamber and Truist and cited testimony from local superintendents about improved outcomes after principals completed the training. "If we do are able to pass this legislation ... Kentucky to have the best principal leadership training program in The United States Of America," the senator from Bourbon said on the floor.
The committee substitute adopted on the floor renames the funding source to the Kentucky Chamber Foundation at the request of the Chamber. During floor questions the senator from Jefferson 33 asked for clarification about the Chamber's historical involvement; the sponsor said the partnership has existed for roughly 10–12 years and that it provides both training capacity and member funding to expand cohorts.
A few senators suggested drafting clarifications. The senator from Fayette 13 asked that the bill clarify the meaning of "new principal" so that a principal who transfers from one school to another would not be required to repeat the entire five‑year sequence, and the sponsor said he is open to technical fixes as the bill moves through the process and will seek funding in the budget year. The clerk reported a roll call tally of 38 yays, no nays; Senate Bill 4 passed as amended by the committee substitute.
