Skip to Content
Professional Development
Skip Navigation

The Florida Educational Leadership Standards

Purpose

The standards are set forth in rule as Florida's core expectations for effective school administrators. These evidence-based standards form the foundation for school leadership preparation programs, educator certification requirements, professional learning for school administrators, and school administrator evaluation systems.

History

The Florida Principal Leadership Standards (FPLS) were established in 2005 through State Board of Education Rule 6A-5.080, F.A.C., and 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. 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. Named the Florida Educational Leadership Standards, the new standards were adopted by the State Board of Education in October 2022.

Structure

There are eight standards, each comprised of a title, description, and role-based descriptors that further clarify and define the work required to demonstrate mastery of the standard.

Standard: Comprised of a title and description, a particular professional expectation of school-based leaders. Descriptions: Assistant Principal: Requirements for assistant principals to demonstrate mastery of the standard. School Principal: Requirements for school principals to demonstrate mastery of the standard.

Standards Overview

Standards Overview Professional and Ethical Norms: Effective educational leaders act ethically and according to professional norms to promote the academic success and well-being of all students. Vision and Mission: Effective educational leaders collaborate with parents, students and other stakeholders to develop, communicate and enact a shared vision, mission and core values to promote the academic success and well-being of all students. School Operations, Management and Safety: Effective educational leaders manage school operations and resources to cultivate a safe school environment and promote the academic success and well-being of all students. Student Learning and Continuous School Improvement: Effective educational leaders enable continuous improvement to promote the academic success and well-being of all students. Learning Environment: Effective educational leaders cultivate a caring, rigorous and supportive school community that promotes the academic success and well-being of all students. Recruitment and Professional Learning: Effective educational leaders build the collective and individual professional capacity of school personnel by creating support systems and offering professional learning to promote the academic success and well-being of all students. Building leadership Expertise: Effective educational leaders cultivate, support and develop other school leaders to promote the academic success and well-being of all students. Meaningful Parent, Family and Community Engagement: Effective educational leaders utilize multiple means of reciprocal communication to build relationships and collaborate with parents, families and other stakeholders to promote the academic success and well-being of all students.

Full Rule Text