§ 116-74.41A.  Definitions.

For the purposes of this Article, the following definitions apply:

(1) Authority or SEAA. - The State Education Assistance Authority as created in G.S. 116-203.

(2) Commission. - The North Carolina Principal Fellows Commission.

(3) Eligible entity. - A for-profit or nonprofit organization or an institution of higher education that has an evidence-based plan for preparing school leaders who implement school leadership practices linked to increased student achievement.

(4) High-need local school administrative unit. - A local school administrative unit with the majority of its schools deemed to be high-need schools as defined in subdivision (5) of this subsection.

(5) High-need school. - A public school that meets one or more of the following criteria:

a. Is a school identified under Part A of Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended.

b. Is a persistently low-achieving school, as identified by the Department of Public Instruction for purposes of federal accountability.

c. A middle school containing any of grades five through eight that feeds into a high school with less than a seventy-five percent (75%) four-year cohort graduation rate.

d. A high school with less than a seventy-five percent (75%) four-year cohort graduation rate.

(6) Repealed by Session Laws 2019-60, s. 1(x), effective July 1, 2021.

(7) Principal. - The highest administrative official in a public school building with primary responsibility for the instructional leadership, talent management, and organizational development of the school.

(8) Repealed by Session Laws 2019-60, s. 1(x), effective July 1, 2021.

(9) Program. - The North Carolina Principal Fellows Program established pursuant to G.S. 116-74.44.

(10) Public school. - An elementary or secondary school located in North Carolina that is operated by a local board of education, charter school board of directors, regional school board of directors, chancellor for a University of North Carolina laboratory school, an innovative school operator, or the United States government.

(11) School leader. - An individual employed in a school leadership role, including principal or assistant principal roles.

(12) Student achievement. - At the whole school level, after three years of leading a school, consistent and methodologically sound measures of:

a. Student academic achievement.

b. Aggregated individual student academic growth.

c. Additional outcomes, such as high school graduation rates, the percentage of students taking advanced-level coursework, or the percentage of students who obtain a career-related credential through a national business certification exam.

(13) Trust Fund. - The North Carolina Principal Fellows Trust Fund established pursuant to G.S. 116-74.41B. (2019-60, s. 1(l), (x); 2022-71, s. 3.4(c).)