Ruby Batz, Ph.D.

Dr. Ruby Batz is an Assistant Professor of Special Education, University of Nevada, Reno. As a former preschool teacher, special educator, and governmental education researcher, my scholarly interests are driven by real-world inequities I have witnessed and studied. My research is situated at the intersection of early childhood education, special education, disability studies, sociology of education, educational leadership, and implementation science. I use critical qualitative and mixed-method approaches to examine how policy and practice interact with systems of power, particularly racism, ableism, and linguicism, to shape the experiences of young children and their families navigating special education systems. Throughout all areas of my academic work, I seek to identify, disrupt, and transform the sociocultural and institutional mechanisms that perpetuate educational injustice.