Kremen School of Education and Human Development

Kristina Rios

Associate Professor

Department of Teacher Preparation | 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
  • SPED 120
    • Introduction to Special Education
 

Kristina Rios is an Associate 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.
Selected Scholarly Publications

Rios, K. & Buren, M. (2026). Facilitators and barriers in special education for Asian families of Students with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. Exceptionality, 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1080/09362835.2026.2671775


Rios, K., Brown, B. K., Kieper, G., Velásquez, C., & Ruiz B. A. (2026). Latina mother’s expectations and involvement on post-school outcomes for their children with autism    spectrum disorder. Developmental Disabilities Network Journal, 5 (2), 102-129. https://doi.org/10.59620/2694-1104.1114


Rios, K. & Gomez, G. (2025). Experiences of Latina mothers participating in an advocacy program: A narrative analysis. Exceptionality, 78-91. https://doi.org/10.1080/09362835.2025.2593668


Hong, H. & Rios, K. (2025). Exploring the psychometric properties of the family empowerment scale among Latinx parents of children with disabilities: An exploratory structural equation modeling analysis. AppliedMath, 5(4), 1-20.


Rios, K., Hagiwara, M., Carlson, S. & Anton, J. (2025). Perspectives of culturally and linguistically diverse families of young adults with IDD throughout the transition planning process. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-025-03113-z 


Rios, K. & Hong, H. (2025). What Affects Defensive Responding?: Investigating the Effects of Parental Stress, Knowledge, and Family Empowerment on Defensive Response in Latinx Families of Children with Disabilities. International Journal of Developmental Disabilities, 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1080/204738692025.2546625  


Hong, H. & Rios, K. (2025). Unpacking key dimensions of family empowerment among Latinx parents of children with intellectual and developmental disabilities using exploratory graph analysis. Psychiatry International, 6(3), 96-108. https://doi.org/10.3390/psychiatryint6030096


Rios, K. & Buren, M. (2025). Improving transitions from EI to school: Strategies to decrease caregiver stress and increase collaboration with families. National Association of Special Education Teacher’s Early Intervention Series,1-12. https://doi.org/10.1177/10538151231159634 


Hong, H. & Rios, K. (2024). Assessing the Parenting Stress Index-Short Form (PSI-SF) for Latinx parents of children with intellectual and developmental disabilities within exploratory structural equation modeling ESEM and structural equation modeling-based generalizability theory frameworks. Psychiatry Internation, 842-866. https://doi.org/10.3390/psychiatryint5040058  


DuBay, M., Rios, K., Montenegro, D., & Guerra, K. (2024). Exploring the Experiences of Latina Mothers in a Culturally Tailored Early Parent-Mediated Autism Infants and Young Children, 37(4), 273-293.         https://doi.org/10.1097/iyc.0000000000000273 


Rios, K. & Tu, W. M. (2024). Special education experiences and stress among eight Asian parents of children with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Exceptionality, 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1080/09362835.2024.2376530 


Rios, K., Reynoso, C., Vivas, K. & Ponce, C. (2023). Educating Latinx parents of children with intellectual and developmental disabilities to advocate for school services: Results from a pilot randomized controlled trial. Exceptionality, 32(1), 38-56. https://doi.org/10.1080/09362835.2023.2269283