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There is a lack of representation both within literature and in the field of the leadership of/on Black women leaders who are non-gender conforming.

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I am a Black woman and experienced adultification personally during my schooling career. I have a teenage daughter and I want to add to the body of knowledge to help increase the quality of equitable, educational experiences of black girls in K-12 spaces. I care about this topic very deeply and want to improve how black girls are nurtured so that they can fully experience childhood without being subjected to adults’ implicit biases.

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As a special educator and a parent of a student with disabilities, I identify with other special educators who have served under principals who did not have the adequate knowledge to serve students with disabilities. As a new educator, it was difficult to understand how to educate my students without professional development that was tailored to fit my needs and the needs of my students. As a parent, I am invested in my child’s teachers and her education, and I want to ensure that her teachers are given the opportunities to grow professionally so that my child can make academic progress.

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I will collect data from a school principal, and their special educators, and observe meetings to determine how their practices aid in increasing the academic performance of students with disabilities.

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Federal and state policies (IDEA & ESSA)have reshaped the principal’s role as the instructional

leader for all students, including students with disabilities. However, university requirements to become a school leader have not changed to reflect the expectations. Although the responsibility of the principal has increased, almost no state requires any training in special education for an individual to become licensed as a principal  The majority of leaders learn while in the seat of the school leader.

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Black girls and school leaders within the same schools will be the population of the proposed study.  It is important to collect the individual narratives of Black girls and school leaders’ knowledge of what's working and what's not to continue to drive change while adding to the body of research. The hope is that school leaders will enact polices and actions to improve how Black girls are nurtured, valued, and afforded educational opportunities.

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After the groundbreaking Brodsky, et al. (2018) study, DC Government, municipal code was developed to prevent exclusionary discipline  based upon dress code violations. I am continuing to research surrounding and nationwide policies to prohibit exclusionary discipline that pushes black girls out of the classroom and into the streets and criminal justice system.

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The population will be comprised of principals and educational leaders as well as students to compare lived experiences. Principals will be informed by the study about how their experiences align or don't align to their complicity and actions in upholding grading practices.

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Black girls experience adultification as they move throughout the world AND in schools.  Recent events have further illuminated the adultification of black boys and there is a wealth of research and programs around supporting Black boys, but in comparison, the depth of research and programs around supporting black girls is miniscule. One reason is that Black girls continue to reach goals and persevere despite the challenges and barriers they face. We must continue to research and share best practices to ensure black girls are nurtured, protected and experience an equitable experience in k-12 schools.

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Defining and sharing leadership practices that are working and not working will have a profound impact on the daily lives of Black girls as they move throughout the K-12 spectrum.

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There is a lack of research around disproportionality and leadership although IDEA and OSEPS memos require districts to address this issue. Leaders need defined strategies to address the needs of African American students with disabilities.

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The gap in the current research is that there are little to no studies on the success rate and the data of students with disabilities in schools where the principals have adequate knowledge of special education, whether it is from their experiences or their school leader preparation program.

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Each reauthorization of IDEA seeks to further address disproportionality and requires the collection of data around disproportionality, but data isn't collected around academic achievement and/or how the district intends to support these students in general education and special education. Perhaps more policy guidance will shed light on this problem.

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The COVID pandemic brought the long-standing issues of grading back to the forefront.

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Principal preparation programs are not preparing school leaders to lead special education programs or special education teachers. This leaves them ill-equipped to manage the challenges because they lack the fundamental knowledge required to successfully lead an inclusive school. Most states do not require administrators to take coursework in special education as part of their certification, and many administrators report feeling unprepared to support special educators.

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The literature around disproportionality has focused on causes and magnitude of the issue. The majority of the research focuses on sociodemographic model and professional practices, but study after study has called for research around academic achievement because this area of focus can combine these frameworks and make practical recommendations to improve outcomes both in gen ed and sped.

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Federal, state, district policies require action of principals to actively take responsibility for the grading policies in place.

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I will collect data from instructional leaders that impact special education. The findings of this research will provide supports for these leaders in making instructional decisions.

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The gap is the understanding of how educational leaders experience grading and the alignment to the intended outcomes of grading practices.

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The implications of grading on students, teachers, and leaders has long-standing effects. Personally, I've struggled with how to grade and understanding how that impacts students.

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African American students with disabilities have the lowest achievement scores of the subgroups that are generally considered. If special education is supposed to provide an appropriate education, what can we do to improve the outcomes of these students?