TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION | The Next Level

4-Part Webinar Series: Featuring Frances Stetson and Team

Transformational LeadershipLast year’s inaugural series, Transformational Leadership for Special Education, brought district and school leaders together to build the foundations of meaningful, systems-level change. The response was clear: leaders wanted to go further. This four-part series answers that call.

Transformational Leadership for Special Education: The Next Level invites you to embrace the realities of leading in today’s schools and the distinct challenges that shape the quality, success, and legal compliance of the services we provide to students with disabilities. While the first series focused on instructional excellence, staffing and scheduling, service delivery, and program evaluation, this series explores the deeper work that sustains meaningful change: the mindsets that shape decision-making, the strength of our partnerships, and the culture we build across our schools and systems. As before, every session pairs honest conversation with practical insight, real-world examples, ready-to-use tools, and strategies leaders can apply immediately.

A New Feature of this Series

This four-part series includes companion Professional Practice Guides filled with tools, templates, and implementation resources that participants can apply immediately in their districts or schools.   For each session, see a partial list of the resources included in our new Professional Practice Guides.

As CASE members consider the context for district and school leaders responsible for students with disabilities today, do any of these challenges resonate with you and your strategic plans to move your educational organization forward?
 
Registration Information | All Sessions are from 11:00 AM-12:00 PM (Central Time)
Session(s)                CASE Members         NON Members          
   
Register Here  
Full 4-Part Series         $240        $864  
Individual Sessions        $75        $270  
District Team Recorded Package        $600        $950  

 

 

Session 1 | Creating IEPs That Matter: More than a Piece of Paper

February 18, 2027, 11:00AM-12:00PM (CT)  
The IEP is the most powerful instrument a team has for changing a student’s trajectory, and far too often it is treated as a form to complete rather than a plan to pursue. This session reframes the IEP as a living strategy. Leaders will see how preparation before the meeting, the voice the student brings to the table, and clarity around each participant’s role can transform an IEP from paperwork into a roadmap that truly matters.
Participants will explore:
  • Laying the groundwork before the IEP meeting
  • Gaining authentic student input and commitment
  • The future we envision:  strategic conversations with students and parents
  • The PLAAFP as an opportunity to be strategic
  • Establishing role clarity for every participant
  • Identifying the necessary conditions for student success
The Professional Practice Guide for Session 1 Includes:
  • A quick reference guide to IEP team member roles
  • Pre-IEP Planning guide
  • A PLAAFP template and Quality Checklist
  • An IEP Goal Tracking guide
  • What happens after the IEP meeting matters
  

Session 2 | Unraveling the Perceptions and Attitudes That Impact Student Success

March 16, 2027, 11:00AM-12:00PM (CT)  
What we believe about students quietly shapes what we expect of them and what they can achieve. This session takes an honest, courageous look at the perceptions and attitudes, often unspoken and unexamined, that can set invisible ceilings on success for students with disabilities. According to Disability Scoop, “posts containing the word ‘retard’ on the social media platform X jumped 225.7% in the hours shortly after a high-profile individual used the term.” Leaders will engage implicit bias, disproportionality, cultural proficiency, and equity not as abstract ideas, but as everyday leadership concerns. Participants will leave ready to promote a consistent, expectation-raising message to staff and community alike.
Participants will explore:
  • Identifying implicit biases to positively shift attitudes and outcomes
  • Courageous conversations about disability, disproportionality, cultural proficiency, and equity
  • Embracing the ‘hill worth dying on’ as a leader
  • The messages you send to your staff and to your community
  The Professional Practice Guide for Session 2 includes:
  • Meeting Norms and Facilitation Guide
  • Managing Disagreement and Avoiding Escalation
  • What NOT to say during an IEP meeting and Why
  • Data templates that provide your rationale for addressing disproportionality
  • Three indicators of disproportionality embedded in IDEA
  • The foundations of culturally responsive instruction: The CRI Skills Everyone Needs!
  • Research-based Causes of disproportionality
  • Biases related to Disability and Effective Responses
  

Session 3 | The Principal-Director Connection: Shared Goals, Resources, and Accountability

April 6, 2027, 11:00AM-12:00PM (CT)  
When the principal and the special education director lead as true partners, students win. When they work in separate tracks, even the best plans stall. This session explores one of the most consequential and overlooked relationships in any school system. Through honest dialogue and a practical framework for shared goals, resources, and accountability, participants will learn to move from cooperation to genuine partnership: joint action planning, shared impact data, and visible celebration that models collaboration for everyone watching.
Participants will explore:
  • A meeting of the minds through honest dialogue
  • Tools for clarifying the problems and solutions
  • Establishing a joint action plan with shared accountability
  • “What do you need? What do I need?” Aligning expectations
  • Collecting change and impact data to guide decisions and strengthen collaboration (including templates for your use)
  • Celebrating success and recognition: modeling collaboration for others 
The Professional Practice Guide for Session 3 includes:
  • An annual joint planning agenda for each school
  • Rethinking the role of department staff in supporting schools
  • An honest collaboration: What do you need? What do I need in this partnership?
  • Accountability measures for shared goals: A template
  • Attending to adult support and affirmation needs
 

Session 4 | Beyond the Numbers: A Strategic Framework for Aligning Staffing, Resources, and Student Needs

May 4, 2027, 11:00AM-12:00PM (CT)
Most staffing conversations begin with one question: How many more people do we need? The better question is: Are we using the people we already have as effectively as possible? As student needs continue to grow while budgets remain constrained, special education leaders must move beyond staffing formulas and evaluate whether personnel are organized, deployed, and used strategically. Through a recent district case study, participants will explore a four-part staffing framework that examines efficiency, sufficiency, appropriateness, and effectiveness. Leaders will leave with practical strategies for strengthening services by aligning staffing decisions with student needs, organizational priorities, and long-term sustainability.  Come prepared to make some critical decisions about opportunities to reduce staffing costs.  Our case study district realized a $700,000.00 savings and redirected it to students and schools to improve services and outcomes!
Participants will explore:
  • Applying a four-part framework to evaluate staffing beyond traditional ratios
  • Identifying organizational inefficiencies that reduce direct support for students
  • Aligning personnel, roles, and responsibilities with student needs and service priorities
  • Using staffing audits and implementation data to inform strategic planning and budget decisions
  • Recognizing opportunities to reallocate existing resources to strengthen services without compromising compliance
The Professional Practice Guide for Session 4 includes:
  • The important elements of a staffing audit
  • The myths of staffing:  No, we do not all need more staff!
  • Often, it’s the small things we neglect to do that increase tensions re: staffing
  • Master scheduling planner
  • A checklist for evaluating staffing effectiveness and efficiency
  • Beginning of the Year staffing checklist
  • The negative impact of using place and label names for staffing decisions
  • A template for comparing staffing across districts and schools

 

What Leaders Said About Our First Series

  • “This series has been incredibly valuable—engaging, practical, and immediately applicable to our work.” ~Special Education Director
  • “Thank you for a powerful series. The time and expertise shared made a meaningful impact on our leadership work.” ~District-Level Special Education Leader
  • “This work helped reframe our thinking—special education teachers are instructional partners, not case managers. That shift is critical for real collaboration.” ~Special Education Leader, District Level
  • “The concept of evaluation as the ‘golden thread’ that drives instruction and services was a powerful takeaway.” ~Special Education Coordinator
  • “The tools provided are practical, high-quality, and immediately usable in our district.” ~Special Education Supervisor
  • “The tools helped turn big ideas into actionable steps. They made systems change feel doable.” ~Regional Student Services Leader
 

 

Virtual Session Guidelines

Our virtual sessions are designed to deliver world-class professional learning and networking opportunities that support and advance the field of special education leadership. By participating in this virtual event, you agree not to save, record, share, or post any part of the recording or related photos without prior written permission from CASE. The Council of Administrators of Special Education provides remote learning through video communication, and we ask that you respect the privacy and intellectual property rights associated with these recordings.
 
Payment & Refund Policy
  • Individual registrations must be paid by credit card at the time of registration.
  • Purchase orders are only accepted for 10 or more registrations from the same organization. To use a purchase order, please email [email protected] for instructions.
  • Refunds (minus a 25% administrative fee) are available if requested in writing or by email at least one month before the event. No refunds will be issued for requests received after that date.