State education chiefs and their leadership teams recognize the need to improve outcomes for all students, particularly those who face challenges accessing school services or who experience gaps in academic and social opportunities and outcomes. Access and outcomes for students with disabilities are of particular concern, especially in our nation’s persistently under-resourced schools.
CCSSO and the National Collaborative on Inclusive Principal Leadership (NCIPL) have identified nine key strategies that state education agencies (SEA) can employ to advance inclusive principal leadership in partnership with their school districts and educator preparation programs. Note that the ninth strategy is a new resource developed in response to the COVID-19 crisis; it lists the steps SEAs can take to support inclusive, post-pandemic recovery and acceleration of learning for students with disabilities.
Strategy 1: Set a Vision and Plan for Inclusive Principal Leadership
State chiefs and their leadership teams can communicate a compelling vision for the role of the principal in continuously improving student outcomes and accelerating learning for student groups with performance gaps, including those with disabilities. This is particularly critical for the 2021-2022 school year, as most students return to in-person learning while some students—especially those with health concerns—continue to learn remotely.
- Create a shared definition of inclusive leadership and build a common understanding of inclusive leadership practices across the SEA.
- Form a stakeholder advisory group with representatives from principal preparation programs, school districts, principal organizations, special education organizations, and parent and family organizations to inform your vision and plan for inclusive leadership.
- Develop theories of action aligned to goals for advancing inclusive principal leadership and identify measures of success.
- Support theories of action with strategies to build and evaluate aspiring and practicing principals’ knowledge and skills around inclusive leadership, in collaboration with districts and principal preparation programs. For instance, areas of focus could include:
- implementation of Universal Design for Learning (UDL); and
- design and development of a Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) framework that includes academic, social emotional and behavioral supports.
- Identify opportunities to fund programming on inclusive principal leadership through the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, and the American Rescue Plan (ARP).
Strategy 2: Cultivate Coherence and Collaboration
To promote inclusive principal leadership, SEAs can collaborate across offices and divisions to provide consistent programs, policies, messaging and resources around principal development.
- Establish cross-divisional teams with key individuals throughout the SEA who are responsible for advancing effective inclusive principal leadership (i.e., representatives from special education, educator quality, school improvement and licensure/certification).
- Promote coherence among various programs and policies that support school leaders and the education of students with disabilities (i.e., through state plans under ESSA, IDEA, State Systemic Improvement Plans, CARES Act and ARP).
- Audit existing policies and programs to embed inclusive principal leadership strategies supported by the best available evidence.
- Collaborate across departments and programs to confirm that leaders understand what effective inclusive leadership practices are (e.g., UDL, culturally responsive teaching, positive behavior interventions and supports (PBIS), MTSS and explicit and evidence-based instruction).
- Provide targeted development opportunities for district and school leaders on the implementation of inclusive practices.
- Engage across the agency to identify incentives and support structures to support the adoption of high-quality, standards-aligned instructional materials and provide embedded professional learning opportunities on inclusive practices.
Strategy 3: Transform Principal Preparation and Licensure
SEAs can refine their systems for principal-preparation program approval/oversight and principal licensure to confirm that all principals have the core set of knowledge, skills and dispositions to lead inclusive schools.
- Audit or review principal-preparation program curricula, clinical experiences and assessments to make sure they prepare aspiring leaders to implement inclusive practices aligned to state standards, National Educational Leadership Preparation (NELP) standards, Professional Standards for Educational Leaders (PSEL), and the CCSSO-CEEDAR Promoting Principal Leadership for the Success of Students with Disabilities guidance document.
- Establish and/or implement principal-preparation program approval processes and standards/criteria that emphasize the content, coursework and length/quality of field experiences necessary to cultivate inclusive principal leadership.
- Analyze program evaluation data as well as assessments for licensure and program approval to confirm that principal-preparation programs address the knowledge, skills and dispositions principals need to lead effective inclusive schools.
- Create or adapt leadership performance assessments to evaluate the degree to which current and aspiring principals can fully utilize learning technology and foster productive collaboration among special education teachers, general education teachers and related service providers.
- Develop pre-service school leadership residencies, in partnership with districts and/or institutions of higher education, that allow residents to observe, learn and practice under the supervision of an effective inclusive leader.
- Confirm that principals are prepared to evaluate and provide feedback to teachers in inclusive settings (e.g., via co-teaching models or by teachers providing modifications and/or accommodations).
Strategy 4: Promote Principal Development on Inclusive Practices
SEAs can promote meaningful systems of support, evaluation, mentoring and coaching to encourage principal leadership in developing inclusive schools.
- Articulate a clear set of practices to create inclusive schools through principal leadership.
- Provide and promote professional development for principals at the state and local levels using effective in-service and evaluation procedures. Establish incentives for principals to mentor, coach and facilitate induction programs focused on inclusive and equitable learning environments.
- Confirm that principals are knowledgeable about the effective instructional practices teachers need to advance school inclusivity (e.g., evidence-based math and reading practices, explicit instruction, High-Leverage Practices, intensive intervention).
- Use micro-credentials to encourage principals to pursue professional development opportunities designed to create inclusive schools (e.g., micro-credentials on UDL).
- Support principal supervisors’ knowledge, skills and dispositions on inclusive leadership, so they can effectively coach and provide feedback to principals on inclusive leadership practices.
- Use ARP funds to provide direct training for district and school leaders to develop evaluation and mentoring tools for principal leadership in inclusive schools.
Strategy 5: Provide Targeted Supports to Districts and Schools
SEAs can encourage school districts to incorporate inclusive principal leadership practices into existing programs and policies. They also can provide direct support to districts and schools—particularly those identified for targeted support and improvement under ESSA.
- Use the ESSA LEA plan application process to encourage school districts to incorporate inclusive principal leadership into their plans and practices.
- Promote coherence among various programs and policies by encouraging school districts to incorporate inclusive principal leadership into existing programs.
- Provide direct services and resources to districts and schools around effective inclusive principal leadership and devote resources to increasing local capacity to do the same (e.g., through funding, research clearinghouses, sponsored research on “What Works,” direct assistance).
- Identify schools and/or districts that model successful inclusive leadership practices; identify which actions could be replicated and/or scaled; and document best practices for sharing statewide.
- Use ARP funds (alone and/or blended with other federal, state, and local funds) to provide direct training for principals related to inclusive leadership.
Strategy 6: Connect School Improvement and Principal Development Initiatives
SEAs can target inclusive principal development strategies in schools where there are achievement gaps for historically marginalized students. Research has shown that effective principals are a critical component in school improvement.
- Use an MTSS framework to provide inclusive systems of differentiated support based on individual students’ unique needs.
- Leverage funds (i.e., Title I, Title II, CARES Act, ARP ESSER, IDEA, SIG) to build school leaders’ capacity to effectively lead inclusive schools.
- Examine workforce initiatives to attract, prepare, develop, and retain inclusive principals and other school leaders and maximize potential for their success in ensuring improved outcomes for students with disabilities.
- Implement improvement plans rigorously and with fidelity, including initiatives focused on advancing effective inclusive principal leadership.
- Confirm that professional development initiatives include an emphasis on cultural proficiency and an asset-based perspective.
Strategy 7: Meaningfully Engage Stakeholders as Partners in the Work
When developing their vision and goals for inclusive principal leadership, SEAs can involve a variety of stakeholders (including educators, preparation programs, districts, students, parents, families and communities) and can prioritize meaningful engagement with stakeholders throughout the planning and continuous-improvement processes.
- Collaboratively develop a vision with a broad array of stakeholder, family and community groups — such as educator preparation programs, districts, parent and family organizations, parent training and information centers, special education parent groups, etc.
- Examine the degree to which principal candidates have performance-based experiences which enable them to apply the knowledge and skills needed to effectively collaborate with and meaningfully engage with parents and families of students with disabilities.
- Provide and promote systems of pre-service learning, licensing and credentialing that encourage principals to develop the knowledge and skills needed to effectively collaborate and meaningfully engage with parents and families of students with disabilities.
- Provide and promote effective systems of in-service support, evaluation and professional development (including micro-credentialing opportunities) for principals at the state and local levels, focusing on developing skills to engage with families and other stakeholders effectively and meaningfully.
- Work with districts to collect data on parent and family experiences and the degree to which they are supported in collaborating as decision makers with school staff and are informed of the rights regarding their children’s education.
Strategy 8: Adopt Processes and Supports for Continuous Improvement
SEAs can establish cycles of inquiry and improvement to ensure the adoption and implementation of effective policies and practices for inclusive principal leadership.
- Continuously test the efficacy of identified strategies, policies and/or programs pertaining to inclusive leadership to understand “what works” and for whom, under what conditions.
- Partner with and sponsor researchers to evaluate the impact of current initiatives aimed at advancing effective inclusive principal leadership.
- Incentivize new initiatives on inclusive leadership and facilitate their rigorous evaluation through effective research-practice partnerships.
- Develop processes to identify new partnerships with districts and educator preparation programs that enhance work in targeted and/or marginalized areas.
- Co-construct communication and feedback processes with the field to assess and refine implementation of inclusive leadership policies and practices.
Strategy 9: Provide Guidance on Efficient, Effective and Responsive Instruction
SEAs can offer district and school leaders guidance on providing efficient and effective instructional services to improve education for all learners, particularly groups of learners who have been historically marginalized.
- Support students’ social, emotional, behavioral and mental health as a critical foundation for academic learning through an integrated MTSS framework.
- Maximize efficiency and effectiveness of intervention and supports by organizing evidence-based practices within an empirically supported MTSS framework.
- Invest in systems to support educators’ implementation of evidence-based instructional practices, promote staff wellness, and increase retention of a highly qualified workforce.
- Address the impact of lost instructional time following a pandemic or extended school disruption by supporting the implementation of evidence-based interventions that respond to students’ social, emotional, behavioral and academic needs.
- Use ARP funds to provide students with evidence-based summer learning and enrichment programs, including partnerships with community-based organizations.
- Allocate resources to support learning through evidence-based instructional approaches, tutoring, connection to high-quality home Internet and/or devices, and expanded learning time.