The School Principal Leadership and Mentoring Act was passed in 2023 to create and implement the Alabama Principal Leadership Development System (APLDS) for public K-12 education and provide annual stipends for principals and assistant principals who satisfactorily complete the program requirements. One requirement for successful completion of the APLDS program is that principals and assistant principals must complete high-quality professional learning from a state-approved list. The professional learning experience must meet all of the following criteria in order to be on the state-approved list:
Below you will find the initial list of state-approved professional learning experiences offered through the Alabama State Department of Education. This list is not exhaustive and is intended to be continuously updated. For more detailed information about state-approved professional learning experiences (e.g., PowerSchool Professional Learning course numbers), please email Anna Shepherd-Jones at .
Alabama Math, Science, and Technology Initiative (AMSTI)
Alabama Reading Initiative (ARI)
Education Technology
Federal Programs
Instructional Services
Professional Learning
*Office of Mathematics Improvement (OMI)
Office of School Improvement (OSI)
Special Education Services (SES)
*In accordance with the law, elementary school administrators are required to participate in early literacy and numeracy high-quality professional learning experiences. High-quality professional learning experiences meeting this criterion are offered by the Alabama Reading Initiative (ARI) and Office of Mathematics Improvement (OMI).
For additional state-approved professional learning experiences offered by Regional Inservice Centers, please contact the RIC Director. Other professional learning experiences will be considered for state-approval from professional organizations, districts, and vendors.
All Principal Act state-approved professional learning clock hours must be awarded through the PowerSchool Professional Learning platform under the Office of APLDS (Alabama Principal Leadership Development System) (ALSDE). You can search for the approved professional learning sessions in PowerSchool Professional Learning the following ways:
Search for “APLDS” in Course Search (under Course tab)
Click on the “Alabama Principal Leadership Development System (APLDS)” tag (under Course tab)
Superintendents, district administrators, and vendors may request state approval for high-quality professional learning experiences.
To request approval, the Principal Act State-Approved Professional Learning Request Form must be completed through DocuSign. Dates for review are listed below.
SUBMISSION RECEIVED BY | REVIEW WINDOW |
July 1-31, 2024 | August 1-31, 2024 |
August 1 – September 30, 2024 | October 1-31, 2024 |
October 1 – November 30, 2024 | December 1-31, 2024 |
December 1, 2024 – January 31, 2025 | February 1-28, 2025 |
February 1 – March 31, 2025 | April 1-30, 2025 |
April 1 – May 31, 2025 | June 1-30, 2025 |
June 1 – July 31, 2025 | August 1-31, 2025 |