A study based on the Job Demands-Resources model examines the influence of school leadership on teachers’ literacy in inclusive education within regular classrooms. Conducted with 751 inclusive education teachers in Sichuan, China, the research utilized validated scales to measure school leadership, job stress, teacher agency, and inclusive education literacy. The analysis employed structural equation modeling and found that effective school leadership directly improves inclusive education literacy. Additionally, it identified job stress and teacher agency as parallel mediators in this process. A significant chain mediation pathway highlighted a sequence where reduced stress leads to greater empowerment. The study recommends that school principals adopt dual leadership strategies that combine reducing burdens with empowering teachers. Specifically, it suggests using distributed leadership to optimize workflows and transformational leadership to encourage collaboration and activate teacher agency, thereby enhancing the overall quality of inclusive education.