A study of the impact of high school principal knowledge of the transition provisions of IDEA 2004 on the graduation options of students with disabilities in South Texas

The study investigated the impact of high school principals' knowledge of the transition provisions of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act or IDEA on students with disabilities graduation options in South Texas. Specifically, the study examined the relationship between current knowledge and graduation options of students with disabilities. The study served to determine what additional training opportunities may be needed to ensure compliance under IDEA.;Many studies exist in the area of administrative leadership, from Getzel and Guba's (1958) application of a social system in schools, which investigated the institutional dimension and the personal dimension of school leadership, to the work of Kouzes and Posner (1987), which referred to leadership as an art where the artist's instrument is the self In addition, the National Association for Secondary School Principals' (NASSP) studies revealed discreet skills that determine leadership effectiveness (NASSP, 1994). However, with increased accountability in secondary education, studies that focus on the relationship between principal knowledge of the transition provisions of IDEA 2004 and the graduation options of students with disabilities being served in special education are necessary. The current study examined the principals' knowledge of the transition provisions of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and graduation options of students with disabilities and utilized a descriptive, comparative and correlational design.;The data for the current research were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences SPSS software version 12.0. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the demographics of the respondents. The demographic data included experience, current position, and self-assessed involvement in special education programs and current total enrollment, current special education enrollment, special education programs, and personal knowledge of the transition of special education students. Senior graduate candidates who graduated during the 2005-2006 school year from a Region One high school were gathered through PEIMS data. The graduate data are campus specific and were matched with the campuses from which principal data were gathered.