Dr. Natasha Strassfeld

Biography

Natasha Strassfeld is an Associate Professor in the Department of Special Education at The University of Texas at Austin. She holds both a J.D. from the University of Wisconsin School of Law and a Ph.D. in Special Education from Pennsylvania State University. Previously, she served as an Assistant Professor in Special Education at New York University (NYU) and was also associated with the NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service as an Assistant Professor of Public Service. Her research focuses on how parents navigate the special education accommodations process, examining legal policy mechanisms and addressing racial and ethnic disparities in special education identification and placement. Dr. Strassfeld has received research funding from the U.S. Department of Education, Spencer Foundation, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. She has served as an expert consultant for the U.S. Department of Justice regarding educational service investigations. Notably, she authored the book "Special Education and the Juvenile Legal System: Connecting Policy, Research, and Practice Addressing the School-to-Prison Pipeline," published by Routledge Press. Her extensive work aims to influence the legal and policy frameworks that shape special education service delivery, with a particular emphasis on the experiences of racialized minority ethnic students.

Research Interests

Courses