Chapter 4: Principals’ Knowledge of Special Education Policies and Procedures: Does it Matter in Leadership?

This study is an investigation of the knowledge of Florida school principals in the area of special education policies and procedures. A survey was designed to establish the method by which school principals purport to have learned the majority of special education policies and procedures. Social justice as defined by Adams, Bell, and Griffin (1997) and ethical reasoning in educational leadership, developed and defined by Shapiro and Stefkovich (2005) were chosen as the conceptual frameworks that guided the design and analysis of the study. These underlying sets of ideas were used to help recognize the many inequalities that have hindered education for a variety of students, including those with disabilities (Lashley, 2007). Findings from this study demonstrate the level of knowledge practicing administrators in Florida possess, the methods by which they acquired that knowledge, and the need for this knowledge under new state mandated reform initiatives.