Senate Passes Plan to Advance Leadership Training for School Principals

UPDATE: Senate Bill 4 unanimously passed the full Senate on Monday and now moves to the House for consideration.

The Senate Education Committee unanimously advanced Senate Bill 4 on February 5, legislation aimed at creating a structured, statewide leadership development system for school principals that includes a new public-private partnership with the Kentucky Chamber Foundation.

Sponsored by Senate Education Committee Chair Steve West, the proposal establishes a five-year framework designed to better prepare first-time principals, strengthen leadership inside school buildings, and improve long-term retention.

“The ultimate goal is to have the premier principal leadership program in the United States,” West told the committee, noting research that shows school leadership is one of the top factors influencing teacher retention and overall school performance.

Under the bill, the Kentucky Department of Education would lead the first two years of training, focused on foundational leadership skills, mentorship, and day-to-day operational responsibilities. A third year would allow principals to complete their existing continuing education requirements. In the fourth year, participants would attend an off-site leadership program delivered through the Kentucky Chamber Foundation and the Truist Leadership Institute. The fifth year would provide advanced leadership training through approved providers.

West said that by partnering with the Kentucky Chamber Foundation’s established Leadership Institute for School Principals program, the state is building on an existing model rather than creating a new program from scratch.

During testimony, Ashli Watts, President and CEO of the Kentucky Chamber, said the Chamber Foundation created the program in partnership with Truist to equip principals with executive-level leadership skills.

Since 2011, she said the program has trained 641 principals across 112 counties, impacting 3 million Kentucky students, and drawing more than $4.4 million in private investment from Kentucky businesses. The program is delivered at no cost through donations from the business community and Truist.

Dr. Bob Lawson, superintendent of Henderson County Schools and a graduate of the Leadership Institute for School Principals, shared how the program has impacted his district. Lawson said Henderson County has sent 22 principals through the training and considers it the district’s priority leadership program.

He said the experience focuses on developing leaders personally and professionally and better equips them to handle the demands of the role.

Lawson added that the results are visible in school performance across the district, with schools led by principals who completed the program consistently outperforming those led by principals who did not.

Senate Bill 4 now moves to the full Senate for consideration.