In the context of accountability and high-stakes testing, professors of educational administration in Texas and across the nation are under tremendous pressure to develop innovative principal preparation programs that produce effective school leaders, especially as research methodologies emerge to disaggregate the effects of such programs. One area few programs adequately address, including more innovative programs, is special education -- despite the fact that principals struggle with accountability for all students, but particularly those principals in schools and districts with limited resources and limited professional development opportunities (Bays & Crocket, 2007; Wakeman, Browder, Flowers, & Ahlgrim-Delzell, 2006). Principals have long reported that their preparation programs did not prepare them with the legal and instructional knowledge in the area of special education (DiPaola & Walther-Thomas, 2003; Hirth & Valesky, 1990). In this article, the authors present a review of the latter, after first situating it within a critical discussion of the former. In the final section, they offer practical recommendations for enhancing principal preparation programs, with an emphasis on preparation to lead in the area of special education.