Businesses, non-profit entities, medical units, governmental departments, and other organizations have utilized succession planning for over 30 years, yet the field of education has been slow to adopt models used in other disciplines. Upon review of the literature from various disciplines, themes for developing and assessing quality succession plans were synthesized. The major themes included identification of talent, development and mentoring, and retention of the highest performing employees, with consideration of the unique organizational culture as an overarching theme. Based on the review of the literature, a survey instrument was established. The survey was validated through an expert panel using Lawshe's (1975) content validity ratio before being administered to a pilot group of 12 school administrators and aspiring administrators. The purpose of the instrument is to examine how school administrators and leadership candidates perceived the employment of succession planning in educational organizations. The survey can be administered to aspiring administrators, school-level leaders, and district senior administrators to identify perceptions of succession planning. The results can be used to develop, modify, and strengthen existing succession plans through revitalized professional development and mentoring.