Requires the State Education Assistance Authority (Authority) to administer a grant program through a cooperative agreement with a private, nonprofit corporation to provide funds for the preparation and support of highly effective future school principals in the state. Defines terms used in the act. Requires the Authority to establish any necessary rules to administer the grant program. Requires the Authority, by September 1, 2015, to issue a request for proposal (RFP) for a private, nonprofit corporation to contract with the Authority for administering the program; specifies requirements to be met by the nonprofit. Requires the Authority to select the nonprofit by January 1, 2016, and report on the selection to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee by January 15, 2016.

Requires the selected nonprofit to issue an initial RFP with guidelines and criteria for the grants by March 1, 2016. Specifies minimum information that grant seekers must include in the application. Requires that the nonprofit give priority to an applicant with a record of preparing principals demonstrating: (1) improvement in student achievement; (2) placement as school leaders in eligible schools; (3) a proposed focus on and, if applicable, a record of serving high‑need schools, high‑need local school administrative units, or both; and (4) a detailed plan and commitment to share lessons learned and to improve the capacity of other entities in reaching similar outcomes.

Requires the nonprofit to recommend grant recipients to the Authority by June 1, 2016. Requires the grant funds to be used by grant recipients for: (1) recruiting and selecting, based on a rigorous evaluation of the competencies of the school leader candidates participating in the program and their potential and desire to become effective school leaders; (2) operating a school leader preparation program; and (3) collecting data on program implementation and program completer outcomes for continuous program improvement. Requires the nonprofit to make recommendations as to the duration and renewal of the grants following specified guidelines, including setting the maximum duration of grants at five years.

Sets out annual reporting requirements for grant recipients beginning in the third year of the grant. Requires the nonprofit corporation to enable the collection, analysis, and evaluation of at least the student achievement in eligible schools; the percentage of program completers who are placed as school leaders within three years in the state; and the percentage of program completers rated proficient or above on school leader evaluation and support systems.

The above provisions are effective July 1, 2015.

Requires the State Board of Education (SBOE), by June 1, 2016, to adopt a policy to provide for a certification process applicable to school administrators who successfully complete a principal preparation program selected for a grant.

Requires the SBOE by September 15, 2021, in coordination with the UNC Board of Governors, to revise the certification requirements for school administrators and the standards for approval of school administrator preparation programs after evaluating the data collected from the grant recipients. Requires the SBOE to report to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee by November 15, 2021, on any changes made to the certification requirements for school administrators and the standards for approval of school administrator preparation programs.

Appropriates $500,000 from the General Fund to the UNC Board of Governors for 2015‑16 to be allocated to the State Education Assistance Authority to contract with the nonprofit corporation and $9.5 million for 2016‑17 to contract with the nonprofit corporation for the administration of the program and to award grants to selected recipients. Effective July 1, 2015.