Dr. Jenny Root

Dr. Jenny Root is an Associate Professor of Special Education in the School of Teacher Education at Florida State University and Affiliate Faculty with the Florida Center for Reading Research. Her research focuses on instructional methods to promote academic learning for students with autism and intellectual disability through: (a) development and evaluation of academic interventions, and (b) supporting teachers to implement evidence-based practices. As a board-certified behavior analyst (BCBA), she uses applied behavior analysis as a theoretical framework in education research and development (R&D).

Dr. Root prioritizes training and mentoring the next generation of education scientists. She works with undergraduate, masters, and doctoral students in the General Curriculum Access lab and is currently recruiting doctoral students for Fall 2024.

Dr. Root is a former classroom teacher of middle school students with disabilities in North Carolina. She completed an undergraduate degree in Special Education at the University of North Carolina Wilmington, where she was a NC Teaching Fellow, and a masters degree in Special Education and graduate certificate in autism spectrum disorders at East Carolina University. She earned her PhD in Special Education with emphasis on severe disabilities and applied behavior analysis from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte where she was a Snyder Fellow and OSEP Special Education Leadership Scholar.

Dr. Root provides service to the field as an Associate Editor of research journals affiliated with professional organizations, including Research and Practice for Persons with Severe Disabilities (TASH) and Education and Training in Autism and Developmental Disabilities (CEC DADD). Dr. Root is a member of the Scientific Council for the Organization for Autism Research and serves on grant review panels for the Institution of Education Sciences and National Science Foundation.