Search

In this article, we explore how educational leadership, administration, and special education students can effectively use Coordinated Early Intervening Services (34 CFR §300.226) funding. These funds, available under IDEA Part B, aim to address racial disproportionalities in educational opportunities. Through a case study, we examine how a school principal navigates the complexities of using IDEA Part B funds for academic and behavioral support services. It highlights the challenges school leaders face and suggests activities to help educators address the root causes of racial/ethnic disproportionality in student identification, placement, and disciplinary actions.

The superintendent is one of the most important positions within public school districts because they have the capacity to influence policies, practices, and perceptions among school staff while simultaneously holding sway over the public. Yet, few Latinx administrators are hired into the superintendency -- even fewer are Latinas. Consequently, districts are never gaining access to talented leaders that can help foster improved educational experiences and outcomes for all students. In this essay, we briefly outline the important role of the superintendent. Then, we provide a set of unique insights on the racial and gender demographics of Texas superintendents as well as how Latinas move through the educator workforce from principal to superintendent. We conclude with implications to further diversify the superintendency and ensure Latinas are effectively mentored, supported, and hired into district leadership positions.

We outline a multidimensional ecological systems policy framework to better understand how the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and patterns of racial disproportionality in special education relate. The framework engages with ideology, power, privilege, and context across the multiple layers of the policy-implementation process and educational ecosystem. It highlights how policy reverberates through the educational ecosystem via interpretation and implementation flows spanning from the exo-, macro-, and meso levels (e.g., federal policy, state education agency (SEA) guidance, local education agency (LEA) officials' actions, educators) to the micro- level (e.g., families and students) and back up. The framework provides critical insights that can inform efforts to reduce racial and ability inequities.

A recent study published in "Educational Researcher" by White (2023) examined superintendent gender gaps. This work required 4 years of internet searches to identify and match superintendent names with each of the roughly 13,000 school districts in the United States. Although this study provided important insights into the superintendent gender gaps, the study is unable to examine gaps for females of color or the long-term career pathways of superintendents. The lack of a national longitudinal superintendent dataset has meant researchers and policymakers have limited insights into superintendent racial and gender gaps, turnover rates, experience, and career pathways to the superintendency. Drawing on data from the Texas State Longitudinal Data System, we offer several findings to provide a glimpse of what could be accomplished with a longitudinal dataset. Policymakers, school boards, search firms, and communities will fail to understand the full range of challenges and opportunities to diversifying and strengthening the superintendent workforce until such a dataset exists and is accessible to researchers and other interested parties.