(a) The General Assembly finds that the driving force behind attracting quality teachers to a school and creating a culture of learning and respect in the school environment is the school leadership, and particularly, the school principal. The General Assembly further finds that teachers consider school leadership as one of the most important factors in creating good working conditions in a school environment. The General Assembly further finds that a school with strong leadership and teachers will be the most effective in improving and maintaining the academic success of its students.

(b) Reserved.

(c) The State Board of Education is authorized to establish a grant program to attract proven leaders in school settings to accept positions as principals in secondary schools in this state that have received unacceptable ratings by the State Board of Education, as defined in state board rules relating to the accountability system. For purposes of this Code section, these individuals shall be known as High Performance Principals. The grant program shall include funding, subject to appropriations by the General Assembly, for grants from the state board to local boards of education for salary supplements for High Performance Principals.

(d) The state board is authorized to develop rules and regulations to implement the grant program, including requiring reports, data, or other measures of accountability. The grant program shall provide that the sole criteria for designating and selecting individuals as High Performance Principals shall be data based evidence of the effectiveness of a proposed High Performance Principal in improving a low performing school or in taking an average or excellent performing school to higher achievement within the last five years. Notwithstanding this, the state board shall have the discretion, only in extenuating circumstances, to consider other criteria. The state board shall be authorized to establish and maintain a nonexclusive pool of preapproved eligible candidates for High Performance Principals for consideration by local school systems.

(e) An individual selected as a High Performance Principal shall be eligible for a one-year salary supplement, in an amount as determined by the state board and subject to appropriations by the General Assembly. An individual grant shall not exceed $15,000.00 per year and such amount shall be awarded pursuant to state board rule based on the relative recruitment need of that school. The local school system may apply for up to two additional school years for renewal of the High Performance Principal designation for an individual, subject to appropriation. An individual selected as a High Performance Principal shall be required to enter into a contract with the local board, in accordance with Code Section 20-2-211, which shall include terms and conditions relating to the designation of High Performance Principal, as required by the state board. An individual shall be required to reimburse the local board for any moneys paid to him or her relating to the High Performance Principal designation if he or she does not comply with the terms of the contract relating to the High Performance Principal designation.

(f) The local board shall be required to submit reports, as required by the state board, which quantify the effectiveness of an individual designated as a High Performance Principal and his or her impact on the improvement of the school in the school year in which he or she was designated a High Performance Principal. The state board shall use the data in the reports as the primary factor in evaluating applications for renewal of a High Performance Principal designation, as provided for in subsection (e) of this Code section.

(g) Salary supplements received by a High Performance Principal pursuant to this Code section shall not be considered regular or earnable compensation for any purpose.

(h) Nothing in this Code section shall prohibit local boards of education from providing additional salary supplements and bonuses to any principal designated as a High Performance Principal.