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As sense-makers, interpreters, and implementers of the law, principals must be responsive to a dynamic legal environment. Updates in the law can have the effect of expanding or contracting the discretion of educational leaders to carry out their responsibilities and support the mission of their schools. As such, typically, this column focuses on summarizing court cases or other legal developments. This one takes a different approach by focusing on the ways that educational leaders can harness their expertise to influence law and policy in meaningful ways. In particular, we discuss how educational leaders can engage in advocacy related to policy or legislation and opportunities to participate in litigation.

Advocacy in Policy or Legislation

For most educational leaders, advocacy is part of the job. A student and their family are struggling with food insecurity. An administrator might connect the family with community resources such as food banks. Advocacy is necessary, as students need a safe, conducive learning environment to get the most out of their education, and school leaders play an important role in shaping that learning environment. While advocacy often may be thought of in the context of a classroom or district, it can also take shape at the state and national levels. While principals can advocate for their students in myriad ways, in this column, we focus on three examples of educator advocacy in policy or legislation: staying informed, building relationships, and participating in the legislative process.

First, principals and school leaders should stay informed of proposed legislation and policy debates. Federal education policies and priorities frequently change, especially in the beginning months of a new administration, so educational leaders must ensure they are mindful of changes in the law to avoid violations of students’ or employees’ rights. Additionally, at the state level, where most education-related debates are held, general assemblies are often in session for a small portion of the year. During such time, legislators are busy proposing, amending, and passing laws that impact schools and students. School leaders should follow the proposed debates, as it is much easier to join an ongoing conversation and contribute to the development of new policy than it is to overturn existing legislation.

Next, principals should build and foster relationships with policymakers. Examples from NASSP’s own members are instructive. Take, for instance, Angie Charboneau-Folch and Andre Hauser, two finalists for the 2025 Advocacy Champion of the Year. Both principals understand the importance of building relationships in advocacy. Charboneau-Folch and Hauser host a “Day with a Principal” and “Elected Officials Day,” respectively. During these days, legislators and policymakers have an opportunity to witness the unique challenges of educators and students firsthand. (“Celebrating the 2025 Advocacy Champion Finalists,” 2025). Representatives can then go back to their respective committees and rule-making bodies to discuss the need for state action to improve education. By humanizing the issues and the key players through relationship building, educational leaders can improve their students’ educational opportunities.

In addition to building relationships, school leaders can also advocate for a seat at the table during the legislative process. Reluctance to this form of advocacy may exist, as the legislative process is often complex and can be contentious. That said, principals should realize that they hold the requisite expertise, experience, and knowledge to speak on the needs of schools, students, and teachers. Again, one can look at NASSP’s own membership to see this in action. In March 2025, hundreds of secondary and elementary school principals gathered in Washington, D.C., where they met with over 300 legislators to discuss the importance of investing in educator training, student mental health, and public education itself. (“School and student leaders unite to advocate for funding on Capitol Hill,” 2025).

While lobbying for funding of federal programs such as Title I and IDEA at the federal level is necessary, principals should also stay connected to policymaking at the state and local levels. School leaders can look to the next generation of educational leaders for examples of effective lobbying. Across the nation, pre-service education students are advocating for compensation for student teachers. In Maryland, aspiring educator Jainlyn Bridgeforth testified before the state legislature in favor of the Maryland Educator Shortage Reduction Act.

(Paterson, 2023). This Act, later passed into law, provides eligible student teachers with a $20,000 stipend in exchange for working in a Maryland high-need school or content area for two years following graduation. Bridgeforth shared her story with lawmakers and explained how she was forced to start a GoFundMe to support herself while student teaching. “It’s not for a lack of love of education, but for a lack of survivability in this major,” Bridgeforth noted, drawing attention to a common hurdle for aspiring educators. (Paterson, 2023).

Participation in Litigation

Court cases also present a unique opportunity for educational leaders or teachers to impact education law. Educational leaders may serve as plaintiffs in a lawsuit, expert witnesses, or they may be involved in submitting a nonparty brief to inform the court of potential implications of a decision in favor of either party. In this column, we focus on these nonparty briefs, referred to as “amicus” or friend of the court briefs. Educational leaders may be directly or indirectly involved in submitting these briefs. Indirect involvement might occur when a professional association to which they belong submits a brief. More directly, they may informally join a group of individuals to submit a brief.

Amicus briefs may emphasize different legal arguments or sources of information. For example, some might rely more heavily on strict legal arguments while others may integrate peer-reviewed research, personal stories, or rely upon some combination of legal arguments, research, and personal stories. Here, we present two examples of amicus briefs that represent the interests of educational leaders, either directly or indirectly, through the use of different strategies or sources of authority to support their arguments.

In 2021, the Supreme Court decided a case out of Pennsylvania that addressed the limits of school district authority to discipline students for off-campus speech (Mahanoy Area School District v. B.L., 2021). In this case, the National School Boards Association, the School Superintendents Association, the National Association of Elementary School Principals, and NASSP submitted a collective brief as “organizations that represent the front lines of public-school administration.” The brief argued that “school administrators must be able to discipline off-campus speech that threatens harm to the school environment—including speech that bullies or harasses students or staff or concerns potential on-campus violence.” To support their arguments, the brief relied upon extensive case law and research regarding the significance of bullying and social media. This example shows the indirect ways that principals can seek to inform litigation through their professional membership associations.

Gloucester County School Board v. G.G. (2017) provides a different type of example. This case involved a transgender student who was denied access to restrooms consistent with their gender identity. In this case, a group of administrators from 31 states and the District of Columbia, led by counsel from Lambda Legal, submitted a brief highlighting their experiences implementing inclusive policies and practices. In particular, administrators used their voices and experiences to illuminate the benefits of inclusive policies and to provide evidence to counter common misconceptions, such as safety concerns, when implementing inclusive policies. This brief shows the direct ways that administrators can use their voices and expertise to inform the courts on issues of importance to their students, colleagues, and communities.

“Principals should build and foster relationships with policymakers. Examples from NASSP’s own members are instructive.”

Conclusion

Overall, school leaders can play a critical role in shaping education law and policy. To best advocate for the rights of students and teachers, principals should recognize the importance of fostering relationships with policymakers, fellow school leaders, and professional organizations. Additionally, principals should stay apprised of pending legislation and litigation so that they can share their expertise and recommendations with lawmakers and legal advocates alike. By participating in the policymaking process and joining as signatories to amicus briefs, principals can transform from passive participants to active agents of our legal system.

Maria M. Lewis, JD, PhD, is an associate professor of education at Pennsylvania State University. She teaches courses on education law and leadership for equity, diversity, and inclusion. Hannah B. Gahimer, JD, is a visiting assistant clinical professor at Indiana University. She teaches undergraduate and graduate-level courses focused on school law, education policy, and ethics.

References

Brief for National School Boards Association et al. as Amicus Curiae, B.L. v. Mahanoy Area School District, No. 20-255 (2021). supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/20/20-255/170435/20210301135851455_2021-03-01%20No.%2020-255%20NSBA%20Merits%20Amicus%20Brief.pdf

Brief for School Administrators from Thirty-One States and the District of Columbia as Amicus Curiae in Support of Respondent. Gloucester County School Board v. G.G., No. 16-273 (2017). scotusblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/16-273_bsac_school_of_administrators_from_thirty-one_states_and_the_dis.pdf

Gloucester County School Board v. G.G., 137 S.Ct. 1239 (2017).

Mahanoy Area School District v. B.L., 594 U.S. 180 (2021).

National Association of Secondary School Principals. (2025, April 4). Celebrating the 2025 Advocacy Champion Finalists. nassp.org/2025/04/04celebrating-the-2025-advocacy-champion-finalists/

National Association of Secondary School Principals. (2025, March 18). School and student leaders unite to advocate for education funding on Capitol Hill. nassp.org/2025/03/18/school-and-student-leaders-unite-to-advocate-for-education-funding-on-capitol-hill/

Paterson, J. (2023, June 28). Educator advocacy earns wins for students in many states. National Education Association. nea.org/nea-today/all-news-articles/educator-advocacy-earns-wins-students-many-states