Natasha Strassfeld

Natasha Strassfeld is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Special Education at the University of Texas at Austin. Prior to joining the University of Texas at Austin faculty, she was an Assistant Professor of Special Education in the Department of Teaching and Learning at NYU Steinhardt and Associated Assistant Professor of Public Service at NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service. She obtained her J.D. degree from the University of Wisconsin School of Law and her Ph.D. in Special Education from the Pennsylvania State University.

Dr. Strassfeld's research examines the ways in which parents navigate the special education and accommodations process via legal and policy mechanisms, racial/ethnic disparities in how students are (mis)identified for special education placements and services, and special education and related transition services within the juvenile justice system.

She has received research funding from the U.S. Department of Education, Spencer Foundation, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. In addition, she has been appointed to serve on multiple national committees for the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, and she has also served as a qualitative data expert and consultant for the U.S. Department of Justice on matters pertaining to investigations of educational services and service delivery. Her book, Special Education and the Juvenile Legal System: Connecting Policy, Research, and Practice to Address the School-to-Prison Pipeline, is under contract at Routledge Press.