PDF Planning to Meet the Requirements of Act 45

PLANNING TO MEET THE REQUIREMENTS OF ACT 45

TO: School Leaders

Depending on a number of variables you may or may not know a great deal about Act 45. The full impact of this law has fallen unevenly on certain defined categories of school and district leaders. All of the "unevenness" changed on July 1, 2010 as the full intent of Act 45 comes into focus for everyone. As of July 1 all of the preparation/certification, induction and continuing professional education of assistant principals and principals, assistant superintendents and superintendents, IU assistant executive directors and executive directors, and career and vocational technical school directors is governed by the provisions of Act 45.

The purpose of this memo is to provide you with some information about the implications of this development for you. It is provided in a question and answer format and it makes reference to the charts and schedules that are included with this memo. By reading this information you can develop a plan to meet the requirements of Act 45 in a meaningful way over the next several years.

I became an assistant principal or a principal after January 1, 2008. How does Act 45 affect me? Anyone who became a principal or assistant principal after Act 45 went into effect on January 1, 2008 is required to complete the Principals Induction Program within five years of their date of hire. The Principals Induction Program is composed of 150 hours of targeted professional leadership development that includes course work, a mentorship, and job-embedded application. This coursework may be taken through the courses offered by PA Inspired Leadership, (NISL Course 1 and Course 4 are the two courses for induction). These courses are offered every year by PA Inspired Leadership in this region. There are also PDE-approved "private" programs offered by providers such as colleges and universities through which you can meet the induction requirement. In our region Widener University offers such a program.

I have been a school/district leader in one of the Act 45 defined positions since before 2008. How does Act 45 affect me? Act 45 amended Act 48 for school leaders. As before, you still must earn 180 continuing professional education hours within the five year cycle. But now the hours must be Act 48 PIL hours. You can only earn Act 48 PIL hours by completing courses offered by PA Inspired Leadership or by completing PDE-approved courses offered by other providers such as IUs, colleges and professional organizations

Will I still earn Act 48 hours? Yes, you will still earn regular Act 48 hours but only Act 48 PIL hours "count" in terms of your 180 hour requirement as long as you stay employed in one of the defined leadership positions. PERMS will keep track of both your Act 48 PIL and regular Act 48 hours. All Act 48 PIL hours are automatically counted as Act 48 hours. The reverse is not true.

What should I consider as I plan for my professional leadership development over the next several years? You should consider several things. Among these would be: the degree to which the course or program meets your needs for Act 48 PIL hours and/or the induction requirement; the relationship between the demands of a particular course and your projection of other professional and personal demands on your time for a given year, (some years may be better than others to take a PA Inspired Leadership course which requires several days out of the building); and the perceived value to you, or your district, of the program's or course's subject matter. This last point should be especially critical as you consider your long term professional development needs and the potential trajectory of your career.

How can I get more information? The PDE website carries all of the information regarding Act 48 PIL (Act 45). Go to the website at . On the left side of the web page, (in the blue column), click on Programs and then click on PA Inspired Leaders from the Featured Programs column.

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