Principal credential standards

The documentation on each standard must be verified within the department before any credential will be issued. 1. An applicant must hold a valid North Dakota educator's professional license issued by the board in accordance with North Dakota Century Code sections 15.1-13-08 and 15.1-13-10 and North Dakota Administrative Code title 67.1. 2. An applicant must have at least three years of teaching or administrative experience or a combination thereof: a. Equal to full-time equivalency as stated in North Dakota Century Code section 15.1-06-04. b. Positions must have been stated on a professional contract. c. Teaching is defined as being assigned as a regular classroom teacher, music teacher, art teacher, counselor, physical education teacher, basic skills or remedial reading teacher, special education teacher, or library media specialist, or any combination of these assignments. d. Administrative experience is defined as being assigned the duties of principal that includes any combination of an approved school or as a superintendent or central office administrator of an approved kindergarten through grade twelve school. e. Applicants for the elementary principal credential must fulfill the requirements of this subsection in any combination of grades kindergarten through eight. f. Applicants for the secondary principal credential must fulfill the requirements of this subsection in any combination of grades five through twelve. 3. The level II credential requires twenty semester hours of graduate credit taken in a master's degree program from a state-approved program in educational administration. Course preparation for the credential is as follows: a. Leadership, planning, and organizational behavior in education. b. Educational law and organizational structure of education. c. Personnel, supervision, and staff development. d. Curriculum, instruction, and learning theory. e. Policy and educational finance. f. Administration of the secondary school. g. Secondary school curriculum. 4. The level I credential requires one of the following: a. A master's degree in educational administration from a state-approved program. Course preparation for the credential must be aligned to the standards listed below: (1) Mission, vision, and improvement. (2) Ethics and professional norms. (3) Equity, inclusiveness, and cultural responsiveness. (4) Learning and instruction. (5) Community and external leadership. (6) Operations and management. (7) Building professional capacity. (8) Internship. The internship standard must be specific to the grade level of the credential being applied for. The internship for the elementary credential is specific to the elementary school and must be completed through a field experience in grades kindergarten through eight. The internship for the secondary credential is specific to the secondary school and must be completed through a field experience in grades five through twelve. These field experiences must take place under the supervision of the university through which the individual's program is being completed. Individuals interested in obtaining the kindergarten through grade twelve principal credential must complete a separate field experience at both the elementary and secondary level. b. A master's degree with a major certifiable by the board in addition to twenty semester hours of credit from a state-approved program that includes courses specific to all standards listed in subdivision a.