The purpose of this dissertation study was to explore the leadership attributes of special education central-office administrators. Using Senge’s five disciplines of the learning organization and Marzano’s 21 responsibilities of the school leader, this multicase study sought to discover the attributes of a special education leader. The focus of this dissertation study was to explore what leadership traits exist across systems-level special education leaders.

To understand special education leader engagement at the central-office level, interviews and observations were completed with special education leaders willing to participate in the research study. Additionally, each participant was required to submit a copy of his or her resume to the researcher. A multicase-study approach was used to analyze the attributes of each leader involved in the dissertation research.

The study analysis revealed that special education leaders in the State of Maryland demonstrate leadership attributes related to Senge’s five disciplines of the learning organization and Marzano’s 21 responsibilities of the school leader. Findings expanded the existing literature to include an analysis of special education leadership at a systems level.