Special Education District Administrators: Who Are They? What Do They Do?

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Saturday 1:30 pm Four Seasons Ballroom 1
  In Roundtable Session: The School District Role in Policy Reform (Table 5)

Abstract

Broadly, district leaders are responsible for interpreting policies and shaping implementation throughout their district. Yet we know little about how special education (SE) district administrators shape the implementation of SE. In this interview study with 36 SE district administrators, we leverage theories of role vulnerability and institutional theory, to better understand the role configurations of these leaders and their daily work. We find that these SE district administrators hold a variety of titles and their position within their district organizational chart affects their work. We also find that they perform a wide variety of tasks with unpredictable schedules and they report they are often the sole voice advocating for students with disabilities within district central office decision-making.

Authors

• Jennifer R. Cowhy, University of Arkansas

• Lok-Sze Wong, University of North Texas

• Lauren I. Katzman, Arizona State University

• Meredith Bowling, University of North Texas