Why School Leaders Aren’t Prepared for Special Education — And Why It Matters

Two recent studies—one on rural principals, one on principal preparation—point to the same core problem: school leaders aren’t being trained to handle special education or implement FAPE with confidence. That gap shows up every day in how schools serve (or fail to serve) students with intellectual disabilities.

The Real Issue

Principal prep programs barely skim special education. Rural schools then compound the problem with limited staffing, tight budgets, and leaders who wear five jobs at once. The result? Principals leaning heavily on special education teachers to interpret law, troubleshoot services, and handle everything tied to IDEA. That’s not leadership. That’s survival.

Both studies highlight this: even the “prepared” principals admitted they weren’t actually ready.

How the Studies Looked at the Problem

Rural principals:

• Eight leaders in remote schools

• Semi-structured interviews

• At least one year responsible for FAPE for students with intellectual disabilities

Leadership prep:

• Surveyed 43 principals, then followed six who reported high preparedness

• Three rounds of interviews plus follow-ups

Small samples, one-state focus, self-report data. But the overlap in findings is loud.

What They Found

• Principals lack the training to interpret and apply FAPE.

• There’s an over-reliance on special education teachers to fill knowledge gaps.

• Leaders expressed frustration with limited disability knowledge.

• Research on rural implementation is practically nonexistent.

In short: we’ve built a system where principals are accountable for laws they were never taught to implement.

What Needs to Change

Future research should look at long-term leadership development, rural systems support, and ways to reduce turnover in special education. But one path is obvious: relational leadership. When principals have networks, mentorship, and real collaboration, they stop operating in isolation. That matters—especially in rural schools where resources are thin and inclusion work depends on collective effort.

Bottom Line

If we want schools to deliver FAPE with fidelity, we need principal preparation programs that actually train leaders in special education—not as an elective, not as a side note, but as a core competency. Students with disabilities deserve leaders who know what they’re doing, not leaders who hope they figure it out along the way.

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