Free professional development for administrators
Why wouldn't principals and other school leaders want to learn how to do special education legally and beneficially?
The US-based Lead IDEA Center is offering educational administrators a year-long series of professional development sessions aimed at building strong and effective systems for students with disabilities. Designed for principals and assistant principals in pre-K through grade-12 settings, the program is called the “Lead IDEA Leadership Academy.” It will begin in the fall of 2025 and run through spring 2026. It is free to those applicants who qualify.
The focus of the academy is “Increasing Capacity to Lead Effective, Sustainable Systems for IDEA Implementation.” Attendees will engage in two in-person sessions and monthly on-line meetings as well as other activities. They will also receive individualized coaching.
Priority consideration will be given to applications received by 15 August 2025. Please note that a letter of support from applicants’ supervisors is required for the application. Submit an application for the 2025-2026 Leadership Academy here.
The academy has broad objectives for those “local leaders” who participate. Learn more about them on the site for the academy.
One of us, David Bateman, is closely involved in the Lead IDEA Center work. As a co-principal investigator for the center, David receives compensation from it, however, he will not receive funding for his work on it because of his association with SET. That is, there’s no kick-back scheme here. Registration is free.
The Lead IDEA Center
The Lead IDEA Center is a technical assistance project funded by the US government and managed by the American Institutes for Research. Its purpose is to provide resources and training to educational administrators who are responsible for leading early intervention and PreK-12 programs in their implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. The Lead IDEA Center provides knowledge and professional development services that help leaders implement services that go beyond meeting legal requirements; the Lead IDEA Center works with US state and local leaders to build the benefits of special education services.
The Lead Center works in partnership with its sponsor and other institutions:
The Lead IDEA Center is a five-year technical assistance center funded by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services (OSERS) and is part of OSEP’s Personnel Development Program. AIR manages Lead IDEA in partnership with the University of Connecticut (UConn), True North Evaluation, the University of Georgia (UGA), Boston University (BU), and the National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP). Co-principal investigators include AIR’s David Bateman and Lynn Holdheide, as well as UConn’s Mary Beth Bruder. Abigail Foley serves as the project director. Together the team brings extensive expertise in evidence-based practices, special education law and policy, and engagement with educators, families, and leaders to strengthen individual and organizational capacities to support leadership development and success for administrators supporting students with disabilities.
On its about page, AIR explained that it is “a nonpartisan, not-for-profit organization that conducts behavioral and social science research.” AIR works with agencies and organizations in the US and around the world to develop and implement evidence for improving outcomes in education, health care, and employment.