The purpose of the study was fourfold: 1) to determine if discrepancies in perceptions exist between study principals and special education teachers as to what makes for `effective special education leadership' by a principal; 2) If so, what might these discrepancies be?; 3) If not, what are the common themes/perceptions?; 4) to provide a description of what effective leadership among principals leading special education programs might look like. The review of literature within this topic yielded several related themes including the role of the principal as instructional leader, preparation of principals to lead special education programs, current special education legislation, and principal leadership in special education in the school. The research topic and the related research questions called for a qualitative, grounded theory research design. Four major themes emerging from the study, representing effective principal leadership of special education programs are: "classroom support", "visible involvement", "collaborative faculty relationships", and "current professional development". One theme emerging from the teacher group was "parent relationships". One theme emerging from the principal group was: "goal of student success".