Laws and Special Education Administration

Preparing Special Educators and School Principals in Special Education Law: An Undervalued Area of Professional Training?

“…While repeated calls have arisen for increased teaching of special education law to preprofessional students (Bateman et al, 2017;NASSP, 2021;Zirkel, 2015), this study is among the first to compare professional standards and available textbooks for these two groups of professionals. This study produced three main findings, each with important training and policy implications.…”

Principal and Assistant Principal Involvement in and Barriers to Supporting Secondary Transition for Students with Disabilities

“…Despite legislative efforts to improve post-school outcomes for students with disabilities in relation to non-disabled peers, disparities continue to exist. Secondary leaders, specifically principals and assistant principals, play important roles in providing and managing effective educational and transition programs for students with disabilities (Bateman et al, 2017; DiPaola et al, 2004; Hoppey & McLeskey, 2013; Lynch, 2016; Scheef & Mahfouz, 2020). While secondary principals and assistant principals play vital roles in the provision of effective instructional and special education programs including transition programs and services, they are often presented with challenges and barriers that impede with their efforts to support secondary transition (Lubbers et al, 2008; Luecking & Luecking, 2015; Miller, 2018; Morningstar & Benitez, 2013; Riesen et al, 2014; Scheef & Mahfouz, 2020; Sun & Xin, 2020).…”

“…Administrators are unable to evaluate and improve transition services for their students without reviewing data and evaluating the efficacy of their current programs. Previous research (Bateman et al, 2017; Cobb, 2015) supports knowledge and use of student data is essential in administrators’ decision-making about effective programming and services to all students.…”

“…The task of developing and implementing effective special education and transition programs for students with disabilities is often the ultimate responsibility of school principals (Lynch, 2016). As school leaders, principals are primarily accountable for the academic achievement, progress, and graduation rates of all students including those with disabilities (Bateman et al, 2017; Cobb, 2015; Cruzeiro & Morgan, 2006; DiPaola et al, 2004; Hoppey & McLeskey, 2013; Roberts & Guerra, 2017; Scheef & Mahfouz, 2020). In sum, with federal and state legislation requiring schools to provide special and general education programs to meet the needs of all students in the least restrictive settings, school-level administrators, specifically principals and assistant principals, are responsible for providing and managing special education transition efforts that meet these mandates and that meet the needs of diverse learners in their schools (Miller, 2018; Protz, 2005).…”

“…Transition programming and services are directly linked to student outcomes, and school leaders (i.e., principals and assistant principals) play a vital role in the implementation of effective transition programming (Lehman, 2020) and are accountable for student outcomes. Accordingly, it is important to examine school leaders’ perspectives on providing and leading effective transition programming for students with disabilities, as there is limited research specific to principals and transition programming (Bateman et al, 2017; Roberts & Guerra, 2017; Scheef & Mahfouz, 2020; Wakeman et al, 2006). Additionally, an understudied aspect of transition efforts has been how school leaders perceive and support transition programming.…”