Principal Act Application Process

• ACE: Alabama Certification for Educators. The online application system for Educator Certification.
• AIM: (aim.alsde.edu) The ALSDE Identity Management portal that houses educator services such as ACE, background checks, and profile information.
• Principal Act Application: The program that determines eligibility and processes stipends for Alabama principals and assistant principals. Eligibility is recalculated nightly from the Education Directory.
• LEA: Local Education Agency, also known as the school system.
• LEA Principal Act Editor: The LEA representative authorized to review Principal Act eligibility, notify eligible principals/assistant principals, and complete the school-system attestations. This is a role you select after logging in — see ACE (Principal Act) Access for how this role gets assigned.
• Role Selector: The School System dropdown in the side menu. The tabs and lists you see change based on the role you select — Principal Act shows the Pending Principal Act list.
• Eligible / Ineligible: Each principal/assistant principal in your system is automatically classified for the Principal Act stipend based on certification and position data.
• Hard to Staff: An indicator on each principal/assistant principal row reflecting whether their school is designated hard-to-staff and eligible to receive the additional supplement.
• Attestation: A confirmation the LEA Principal Act Editor must complete on the application (the School System Responsibility section) before it can finish.
• Action Required: Applications on your dashboard that need the LEA Principal Act Editor to complete the attestations.

1. 1

   Go to https://aim.alsde.edu to log into your AIM account.

2. 2

   Enter your ALSDE ID # or email address and password, then select Log In.

3. 3

   Once logged in, click the tile labeled ACE to access the Certification Dashboard.

   

The Principal Act features are only visible when you are acting in the Principal Act role for your system.

1. 1

   Click the Menu (☰) in the top-right corner.

2. 2

   In the side menu, open the School System dropdown.

3. 3

   Select Principal Act for your school system.

   

   If you don't see it: If you do not see a Principal Act option, your account is not assigned the Principal Act Editor role for this system — see ACE (Principal Act) Access, or contact ALSDE for assistance.

After selecting the Principal Act role, a Pending Principal Act tab appears on your dashboard. Open it to review your system's principals and assistant principals. The list is split into two sections:

• Principal Act Eligible — principals/assistant principals who qualify for the stipend. Each row shows the name, ALSDE ID, and the Hard to Staff indicator.
• Principal Act Ineligible — principals/assistant principals who do not currently qualify. Select the help icon next to a name to see why.

1. 1

   In the Principal Act Eligible section, check the box next to each principal/assistant principal you want to notify — or use Select All.

   
2. 2

   Selecting at least one eligible principal enables the Send Notification button.

3. 3

   Click Send Notification to notify the selected principals/assistant principals that they qualify and may complete their portion of the application.

   Tip: Use Export to download the current eligible/ineligible list for your records.

After a notified principal/assistant principal completes their portion (personal data and document uploads), the application appears on your dashboard under Active → Action required.

Open the application and click Continue Application. Under School System Responsibility, complete each attestation in turn — read the statement, check the confirmation box, and select Next:

Principal/Assistant Principal Definition Attestation & Interim Position Attestation

APLDS Transcript Attestation

APLDS Early Literacy & Numeracy Attestation

Confirms the applicant's APLDS Clock Hour transcript from PowerSchool PL reflects APLDS-approved early literacy professional learning (for principals/assistant principals who serve grades K–3) and early numeracy professional learning (for those who serve grades K–5). If early literacy and numeracy professional learning does not apply to the applicant's assigned grade level(s), a “Not Applicable” version of this attestation is shown instead — confirm that it does not apply and select Next.

APLDS Evaluation Attestation

The applicant's sections (Confirm Personal Data, Upload APLDS Transcript, Upload APLDS Evaluation) are shown as read-only — your responsibility is to complete the four attestations. Select the APLDS Transcript and Evaluation items under Applicant Responsibility to view the uploaded documentation and confirm the applicant uploaded acceptable documentation. Once all attestations are complete, the application proceeds to Review and Sign.

• No “Pending Principal Act” tab: Confirm you selected the Principal Act role in the School System dropdown (side menu). The tab only appears in that role.
• A principal/assistant principal is missing from the list: Verify they are assigned to your system in the Education Directory.
• Eligibility looks wrong: Eligibility recalculates nightly. Recent changes may take a day to reflect. Use the help icon in the Ineligible list to see the specific reason.
• Send Notification is greyed out: Select at least one eligible principal/assistant principal first.
• Application not in Action required: The principal/assistant principal must complete his/her portion (personal data + uploads) before the attestations become available to you.