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Kremen School of Education and Human Development

Kristina Rios

Assistant Professor

Literacy, Early, Bilingual and Special Education | 559.278.0247 | Office: ED 245

krios@mail.fresnostate.edu

Education

  • University of Illinois at Chicago
    • Postdoctoral Research Fellow, 2020-2021
  • University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
    • PhD in Special Education, 2020
  • California State University, Bakersfield
    • M.A. in Special Education, 2016
  • California State University, Bakersfield
    • B.A. in Liberal Studies, 2013

Courses Taught

  • SPED 233
    • Special Educator as Researcher
  • SPED 235
    • Master's Seminar in Program Development/Induction
  • SPED 236 
    • Seminar in Advanced and Applied Pedagogy: Mild/Moderate and Moderate/Severe Disabilities
  • SPED 219 
    • Effective Communication and Collaborative Partnerships
 

Kristina Rios is an Assistant Professor of Special Education at California State University, Fresno. Her research interests include parent advocacy for Latinx families of children with significant disabilities. Dr. Rios' research examines how Latinx parents advocate for services for their children with disabilities. Additionally, Dr. Rios conducts research examining the impact of special education on parental stress and well-being. To address this gap in the literature, Dr. Rios developed a dedicated research program on Latinx families of children with significant disabilities, the systemic barriers they face in the education system, and interventions geared at mitigating disparities and improving outcomes in this demographic. Specifically, Dr. Rios conceptualized and implemented a 12 hour advocacy training intervention: Familias Incluidas en Recibiendo Mejor Educación Especial (FIRME), also known as Families Included in Receiving Better Special Education, a training program for Latinx families of children with disabilities. The purpose of this advocacy program is to help Latinx parents increase their special education knowledge, advocacy, empowerment, receipt of services, and decrease stress. Dr. Rios' line of research, teaching and practice reflects her teaching experience in the Central Valley. Previously, Dr. Rios was a special education teacher in Delano, Ca. 
Dr. Rios' research examines parent advocacy and family-school partnerships among Latinx families of children with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Rios, K.& Buren, M. (in press).Parents’ experiences transitioning from early interventions services to school services. Journal of Early Intervention.
 
Rios, K. & Aleman-Tovar, J. (2022). Documenting the advocacy experiences among eight Latina mothers of children with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Journal of Policy and Practice in Intellectual Disabilities, 1-15.

Aleman-Tovar, J., Rios, K., & Burke, M. M. (2022). Transition planning: Knowledge and preferences of Latinx families of youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities,60(2), 128-144.
 
Buren, M., Rios, K., & Burke, M. M. (2021). Advocacy experiences among rural parents of children with disabilities. Rural Special Education Quarterly, 1-13.

Rios, K., Aleman-Tovar, J., & Burke, M. M. (2021). Exploring patterns of advocacy and well-being among parents of children with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, 1-14. 
 
Rossetti, Z., Burke, M. M., Hughes, O., Rivera, J., Schraml, K., Rios, K., Aleman-Tovar, J.,& Lee, J. (2021). Parent perceptions of the advocacy expectation in special education. Exceptional Children, 87(4), 438-457.
Rios, K., Burke, M. M., Aleman-Tovar, J. (2021). A Study of the families included in receiving better special education services (FIRME) project for Latinx families of children with autism and developmental disabilities. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 1-15.

Burke, M. M., Rossetti, Z., Aleman-Tovar, J., & Rios, K. (2021). Examining the relation between empowerment and civic engagement among parents of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Journal of Applied Reseaerch in Intellectual Disabilities, 1-13. 

Burke, M. M., Rossetti, Z., Rios, K., & Aleman-Tovar, J. (2020). A pilot study of adult disability services and legislative advocacy among parents of youth with multiple  disabilities. Research, Advocacy, and Practice for Complex Conditions: A Journal for Physical, Health, and Multiple Disabilities, 39(1), 21-41.

Rios, K. & Burke, M. M. (2020). The effectiveness of special education training programs for parents of children with disabilities: A systematic literature review. Exceptionality, 1-17.

Rossetti, Z., Burke, M. M., Aleman-Tovar, J., Rios, K., Lee, J., Schraml, K., & Rivera, J. (2020). From Individual to Systemic Advocacy: Parents as Change Agents. Exceptionality, 1-16.

Burke, M. M., Rossetti, Z., Aleman-Tovar, J., Rios, K., Lee, J., Schraml, K., & Rivera, J.(2020). Comparing special education experiences among Spanish- and English-speaking parents of children with disabilities. Journal of Developmental and Physical Disabilities, 1-19.

Burke, M.M., Rios, K., Aleman-Tovar, J., Lee, C., Arnold, C., & Owen, A. (2020). Exploring the nature and correlates of caregiving among parents of adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 33(6), 1259-1267.

Yang, H., Burke, M. M., Issacs, S., Rios, K., Schraml, K., Aleman-Tovar, J., Tompkins, J.S., & Swartz, R. (2020). Family perspectives toward using telehealth in Early Intervention. Journal of Developmental and Physical Disabilities, 1-20.
 
Burke, M. M., Rossetti, Z., Rios, K., Schraml-Block, K., Lee, J., & Aleman-Tovar, J. & Rivera, J. (2020). Legislative advocacy among parents of children with disabilities: Nature, strategies, and barriers. The Journal of Special Education, 54, 169-179.

Valencia Medina, A. J., Rios, K., Aleman-Tovar, J., & Burke, M. M. (2020). Exploring patterns between school perceptions, child behavior, and maternal well-being among Latina mothers of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). International Journal of Developmental Disabilities, 1-9.

Rios, K., Tovar, A. J. & Burke, M. M. (2020). Special education experiences and stress among Latina mothers of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 73, 101534-101562.

Rossetti, Z., Burke, M. M., Rios, K., Rivera, J., Schraml, K., Hughes, O., Lee, J., & Aleman-Tovar, J. (2020). Parent leadership and civic engagement: Suggestions for the next Individuals with Disabilities Education Act reauthorization. Journal of Disability Policy Studies, 31, 99-111.

Rios, K. & Burke, M. M. (2020). Facilitators and barriers to positive special education experiences and health among Latino families of children with disabilities: Two systematic literature reviews. Review Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 1-13.

Burke, M. M., Rios, K. & Lee, C. (2019). Exploring the special education advocacy process according to families and advocates. Journal of Special Education, 53, 131-141.

 Burke, M. M., Lee, C. E., & Rios, K. (2019). A pilot evaluation of an advocacy program on knowledge, empowerment, family-school partnership, and parent well-being. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, 63, 969-980.

 Burke, M. M., Rios, K., & Aleman-Tovar, J. (2019). Identifying child, parent, and school correlates of stress among parents of children with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Research and Practice in Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, 7, 17-25.

Burke, M. M., Buren, M. K., Rios, K., Garcia, M., Magaña, S. (2018). Examining the short-term follow-up advocacy activities among latino families of children with autism spectrum disorder. Research and Practice in Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, 6, 76-85.

 Burke, M. M., Rios, K., Garcia, M., Sandman, L., Lopez, B., & Magaña, S. (2018). Examining the perspectives of Latino families of children with autism spectrum disorder towards advocacy. Exceptionality, 27, 210-214.

Burke, M. M., Rios, K., Garcia, M., Lopez, B., & Magaña, S. (2018). Improvements in proxy individualized education program meeting participation among Latino parents. Education and Training in Autism and Developmental Disabilities, 53, 393-404.

 Burke, M. M., Rios, K., Garcia, M., Lopez, B., & Magaña, S. (2018). Examining Differences in empowerment, special education knowledge, and family-school partnerships among Latino and White families of children with autism spectrum disorder. International Journal of Developmental Disabilities, 66, 75-81.

Krippel, M. D., Burke, M. M.,& Rios, K. (2018). Learning through interactions: A pilot study of family interventions for at-risk children. Early Child Development and Care, 190, 1904-1917.

Burke, M. M., Lee, C., Chung, M. Y., Rios, K., Arnold, C. K., & Owen, A. (2017). Individual and family correlates of inclusive living options among adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Inclusion, 5, 279-292.


Rios, K., Lewis Chiu, C., & Lee Y. (2017). Keep them engaged!: Using self-monitoring checklists to increase assignment completion. Journal of the Effective Schools Project, 9-13.