Illinois Public School Superintendents: Influencing State-Level Education Legislation and Policy-Making In Illinois

Standards for superintendents of schools are clearly spelled out by The Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium (ISLLC) and the Educational Leadership Constituent Council (ELCC) standards. ISLLC and the ELCC standards both address the political actions expected of today’s district superintendents. Little scientific research has been conducted that demonstrates how superintendents have embraced this requirement. The purpose of this mixed methods study utilizing sequential explanatory design sought to determine the level of political involvement of superintendents in the state of Illinois. Our results identified key findings that have significant implications for Illinois superintendents of schools, which includes superintendents with more prior administrative experiences and those who work in high school districts who have more influence on political involvement and decision making, and superintendents who are actively involved in professional education organizations exert more influence on state-level education legislation and policy-making.