Preparing Principals and Superintendents as Special Education Leaders: A Capacity Building Approach to the Elimination of Special Education Administrators

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Preparing Principals and Superintendents as
Special Education Leaders A Capacity Building
Approach to the Elimination of Special Education
Administrators

• Thomas M. Skrtic, Ph.D.
• Council of Administrators of Special Education
• Council for Exceptional Children
• Louisville, KY
• April 20, 2007
• University of Kansas
• (tms_at_ku.edu)

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Developmental Sequence

• 1993-00 Interdisciplinary Policy Leadership
  (Ph.D)
• Special Education Policy Integration (Ph.D)
• National/state policy, leadership, and advocacy
  (SU/SLSI focus)
• 1999-03 Building Special Education Leadership
  (Ph.D)
• Policy leadership/integration in school/community
  (SU/SLSI focus)
• 2000-03 KSDE licensure reform and legislation
• Eliminates special education director and
  coordinator licenses
• 2003-07 Building Admin of Special Education
  Services
• 2004-08 District-level Special Education
  Leadership
• Now cant do degree/license payback rules

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Legislative and Reform Initiative in Kansas

• Reduce 14 disability endorsements to 4
• Eliminate licenses for SLP, OT, PT, SSW
• Eliminate special education director and
  coordinator
• Three-level administrative licensure
• District Leadership
• Building Leadership
• Program Leadership (no content area requirements)

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Prior Endorsement Requirements Director of
Special Education

• District Administrator certification
• Building Administrator certification or Special
  Education Supervisor/Coordinator endorsement
• 2 years teaching experience
• 2 years special education teaching experience
• 6 graduate credit hours at accredited IHE,
  including
• 3 in org admin of special education services
• 3-credit practicum in special education
  administration

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Former Endorsement Requirements Special
Education Supervisor/Coordinator

• special education teacher endorsement
• graduate degree in special education
• 2 years special education teaching experience
• 15 graduate credits at accredited IHE, including
  
• 3 in curriculum
• 3 in special education supervision/coordination
• 3 in program planning
• 3 in org admin of special education services
• 3-credit practicum in special education
  supervision/coordination

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Audit Guide ProposalSpecial Education Director

• Reimbursable personnel must hold District
  Leadership license and have
• a special education teacher endorsement (YES)
• a graduate degree in special education (NO)
• 3 years sped teaching/supervisory experience
  (YES)
• 9 graduate credits, including (NO, Monitor
  Standards)
• 3 credits in special education law
• 3 credits in org admin of special education
  services
• 3 credits of supervised practicum in special
  education administration

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Audit Guide ProposalSpecial Education Coordinator

• Reimbursable personnel must hold Program
  Leadership license and have
• a special education teacher endorsement (YES)
• a graduate degree in special education (NO)
• 3 years of special education teaching experience
  (YES)
• 9 graduate credits, including (NO, Monitor
  Standards)
• 3 credits in special education law
• 3 credits in supervision/coordination of special
  education services
• 3 credits of supervised practicum in special
  education supervision

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DSEL Goal

• To prepare district leadership personnel to
  administer, enhance, and supervise the provision
  of educational services for students with
  disabilities and their parents, through
  integrated general/special education leadership
  preparation for superintendents who function as
  general education district administrators,
  special education transformational leaders, and
  disability-rights advocates in their districts,
  schools, and communities.

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Educational Leadership Policy StudiesDistrict
Leadership Degree/Licensure Program

• District Leadership
• American Educational Reform Movements
• District Financial Management
• Educational Policy, Ethics and Law
• Advanced Organizational Theory
• Supervision of Instruction
• Curriculum Supervision
• District Business Management
• District Human Resource Management
• Research Methods (12 hours)
• School of Education Core (12 hours)
• Field Experience/College Teaching
• Dissertation (18)

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DSEL Minor in Special Education Leadership

• Standards Based Reform (NCLB/IDEA)
• Law Special Education
• Org Admin of Special Education Services
• Professional Collab Parent Partnerships
• Research-Based Practices for Students with
  Disabilities
• SPED 985 Naturalistic Research

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DSEL Methodological and Substantive Foci

• Social, political, historical foundations
• Civic professionalism
• Problem-solving organizations
• Systems change via participatory inquiry
• Transformational (vs. Traditional) SBR
• Interprofessional and parent collaboration
• Balanced instruction (judgment vs. fidelity)
• Conditions of special education practice
• Status of children families (risk in
  school/society)

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DSEL Participants

• 2 SEA special education administrators
• 3 LEA special services / special education
  directors
• 4 building principals
• 1 special education teacher / former coordinator
• 4 with building and district license, doing Ph.D.
  
• 3 with building license, doing district license
  and Ph.D.
• 2 with building license, doing district license
  and Ed.D.
• 1 w/out building license doing district license
  and Ed.D.

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BASES Goal

• To prepare building principals to administer and
  enhance the provision of educational services for
  students with disabilities and their parents
  through integrated general/special education
  leadership preparation for administrators who
  function as building principals, transformational
  special education leaders, and disability-rights
  advocates in their schools and communities.

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Educational Leadership Policy StudiesBuilding
Leadership Degree/Licensure Program

• First Year-Summer Second Year-Summer
• TL 750 Principalship TL 854 Student in Society
  
• TL 756 History Ed Thought TL 852 School
  Resource Manage
• First Year-Fall Second Year-Fall
• TL 757 Ed in American Society TL 843
  Curriculum Planning TL 715 Ed Research
  Evaluation TL 853 Staff Eval/Development
• First Year-Spring Second Year-Spring TL 752
  Education Law TL 840 Instructional Models TL
  755 Human Resource Manage TL 895 Internship
  (integrated)

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BASES GCP in Building-Level Special Education
Leadership

• SPED 970 Standards-Based Reform (3)
• SPED 971 Org Admin of Special Education
  Services (3)
• SPED 743 Positive Behavior Support (3)
• SPED 841 Learning Strategies Content
  Enhancement (2)
• SPED 798 Effective Instruction for C/LD Students
  (1)
• SPED electives based on need/experience (6)