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Most principals feel that they could better support SWD

• Most principals — especially principals of schools serving primarily students of color — believe that their schools could do a better job supporting SWD.
• Principals of schools with more students of color reported having less-sufficient access to supports for serving SWD.

Principals play a critical role in ensuring that teachers are prepared to support the nation's 6.7 million students with disabilities (SWD). Little is known about the supports for SWD that principals receive from their districts and other sources, but, as with teachers, principals report feeling inadequately prepared to support SWD. A recent RAND report found that only 12 percent reported that, when they began working as principals, they felt completely prepared to support the needs of SWD. The American Educator Panels asked a nationally representative sample of 1,679 principals a variety of questions — including questions about the extent to which they have sufficient support for serving SWD. This American Educator Panels Data Note provides principals' answers to these questions and recommendations for policymakers.