NELP STANDARDS
The National Educational Leadership Preparation (NELP) standards provide a framework for high-quality leadership preparation programs. Developed by a committee of stakeholders from across the country, these standards guide program design, accreditation review, and state program approval.
For more information and resources, explore the NELP Companion Guide, Building Standards, and District Standards, which support leadership preparation programs in developing effective school leaders.
NELP Program Recognition Standards: Building Level
NELP Program Recognition Standards: District Level
NELP Program Recognition Standards: Companion Guide
Navigating the NELP SPA Submission Process
Programs submitting for NELP SPA approval may encounter challenges in requesting shells/templates due to CAEP’s transition to AIMS 2.0. While CAEP processes have migrated, the NELP SPA review remains in AIMS 1.5, creating potential confusion for programs navigating the system.
To support programs through this process, we’ve developed a step-by-step PowerPoint guide outlining how to request the necessary templates in AIMS 1.5. This resource will remain available until CAEP transitions SPAs to AIMS 2.0.
Click the image to the left to download the PowerPoint Tutorial
The NELP standards, which are aligned to the Professional Standards for Educational Leadership (PSEL) serve a distinct purpose in that they provide specificity around performance expectations for beginning level building and district leaders. Whereas the PSEL standards define educational leadership broadly, the NELP standards specify what novice leaders and program graduates should know and be able to do as a result of completing a high quality educational leadership preparation program. Like the ELCC standards that preceded them, the NELP standards were developed specifically with the principalship and the superintendency in mind and will be used to review educational leadership programs through the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) advanced program review process. There is one set of NELP standards for candidates preparing to become principals and a second set of standards for candidates seeking to become superintendents.
The committee that developed the NELP standards included practicing leaders, professional association representatives, educational leadership faculty, educational leadership preparation program leaders and college leadership.
More in-depth information on the NELP standards, how they were developed and the purpose they serve, can be found on the University Council for Educational Administration website through this link. (https://www.ucea.org/initiatives/1523/)