States are central players in setting policies and creating conditions necessary for successful leadership, and for preparing future leaders to perform effectively in schools and districts. Yet very few states have a comprehensive plan for improving district and school leadership. Sometimes, state policies may actually limit those efforts. Delaware is one of 24 states that is being funded by the Wallace Foundation to implement state policy that supports school leader preparation and development, improves working conditions for school leaders, and provides the support for superintendents and principals to focus on student achievement efforts.

In 2001, The Wallace Foundation announced a three-year, $8.9 million grant to launch the State Action for Education Leadership Project (SAELP), a national consortium led by the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) and including the National Governors Association, the National Conference of State Legislatures, the National Association of State Boards of Education, and the Education Commission of the States. Working directly with 15 selected states, SAELP will lead a national effort to ensure that laws and policies in all 50 states strengthen the capacity of superintendents and principals to improve student learning. The SAELP states are: Connecticut; Delaware; Georgia; Illinois; Indiana; Iowa; Kentucky; Massachusetts; Missouri; Montana; New Jersey; Oregon; Rhode Island; Vermont, and Virginia.

In April 2004, The Foundation announced one-year grants totaling $3.6 million to the 15 states to participate in the second phase of the state-based project. The states will be eligible to renew their grants for up to an additional two years for another $16 million based on results.

The 15 SAELP states will establish new requirements for licensing and preparation of school leaders; provide incentives for recruitment and fellowships; and promote creative, effective working dynamics between local leaders and governing boards that result in better student performance. These states are concentrating on six key areas of activity and knowledge building:

1. Priorities and ways of doing business - assuring that states give high priority to support leadership
2. The candidate pool - developing state strategies to increase and diversify the pool of candidates for school and district leadership
3. Education and professional learning - modifying state policies to improve pre-service and professional development programs
4. Licensure, certification and program accreditation - using state policies to promote better licensing and certification processes for leaders, and improving the accreditation process for higher education-based leadership training programs
5. Conditions of professional practice - designing and implementing strategies to improve contracting and bargaining practices, salary and compensation programs, performance review processes, and incentive programs for strong leaders
6. Governance structures - devising state policies and practices to improve the political and governance settings that affect the climate for education leaders

SAELP is a component of Wallace's "state-district" strategy whose goal is to ensure that state policies affecting leadership are well-coordinated with, and supportive of, local district practices. SAELP states are therefore working closely with the 12 high-need districts chosen by the Foundation to participate in its Leadership for Educational Achievement in Districts initiative. The long-term goal of this coordinated state-district strategy is to develop and share policies and practices that influence many other states and districts beyond those getting direct support from Wallace.

• Ten states have passed legislation or regulations related to changes in certification/ licensure requirements
• Massachusetts has created a new program allowing the Springfield school district to certify its own principals
• New Jersey has adopted new governance structures and roles that afford superintendents and principals the ability to make more personnel decisions
• Indiana and Oregon have begun recruitment campaigns focused on placing minority educators into leadership positions
• Missouri introduced and passed three bills aimed at modifying administrator certification rules, fostering administrative mentoring, and improving administrative effectiveness
• The Vermont House introduced a proposal to clarify roles of school boards and administrators and to establish a school leadership academy
• Georgia launched a Leadership Institute for School Improvement in May
• Iowa presented a report on SAELP and education leadership to the State Board to make leadership a top policy priority in 2003
• Delaware has developed and implemented education leadership standards (ISLLC), revised licensure and certification requirements for school leaders, completed a "critical friends" review of school leadership programs in all three universities offering either a masters or doctorate in school leadership education so the programs are aligned to Delaware's school leader standards, developed a state-funded mandatory mentoring program for school leaders, and added professional development requirements for licensure renewal
• Virginia's State Board has approved a regulation allowing for non-traditional superintendents
• Indiana, Kentucky and Virginia have created study commissions on leadership through their state legislatures
• Illinois enacted a new law to require continuing professional development for administrators