Fla.'s New Code Drops Requirement For Principal Licenses

By Jeff Archer

Tucked inside the more than a thousand pages of revised education code approved by the Florida legislature this month is a one-sentence provision that would open principals' jobs to all comers.

Districts could set their own minimum requirements for filling such positions, hiring as principals candidates who lack the state's school-administration credential.

The measure would make Florida among the least restrictive states for administrator licensing, national observers say. One of the only states with fewer restrictions is Michigan, which several years ago...