Janeth Aleman-Tovar, Ph.D. is a dedicated teacher educator whose work bridges special education, family advocacy, and equity-centered educator preparation. She currently serves as a faculty member at California State University, Fresno, and previously at CSU, Chico, where she teaches across undergraduate, credential, and graduate programs in special education while mentoring emerging scholars through thesis and project committees.
Grounded in five years of classroom experience in the Central Valley—including work in both special education and general education—Aleman-Tovar brings a practitioner-informed perspective to her work in teacher preparation. Her scholarly expertise focuses on transition planning, culturally and linguistically responsive special education, and expanding access to services for Latino families of youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Her research includes evaluating the ASISTIR program, a six-session advocacy initiative designed to support Latino families of transition-aged autistic youth in navigating school-based transition planning and adult disability systems. This work reflects her commitment to ensuring that families are equipped with the knowledge and tools to advocate effectively for their children, with a focus on program effectiveness, feasibility, and acceptability.
In her everyday work, Aleman-Tovar integrates community-informed frameworks such as Community Cultural Wealth and Universal Design for Learning to prepare educators who can partner meaningfully with families and approach policy and systems—such as IDEA and transition mandates—not as compliance requirements, but as opportunities to advance equity. Her teaching emphasizes advocacy, collaboration, and systems-level thinking as essential components of effective educator practice.
A new member of the California Council on Teacher Education, Aleman-Tovar has already engaged with the organization through its Early Career Mentor program. She was introduced to CCTE through colleagues and independent exploration, and values the organization’s commitment to advancing educator preparation across California.
What is your area of expertise?
My scholarly expertise centers on transition planning, family advocacy, culturally and linguistically responsive special education, and improving service access for Latino families of youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities. I am especially proud of this study, which evaluated the ASISTIR (Apoyando a Nuestros Hijos/as con Autismo para Obtener Servicios de tRansición; Supporting our Children with Autism to Obtain Transition Services), a six-session advocacy program designed to help Latino families of transition-aged autistic youth navigate school-based transition planning and adult disability services. The research focused on three outcomes: the program’s effectiveness, feasibility, and acceptability.
How long and in what capacity have you served CCTE?
I am a new member of CCTE and have benefited from the Early Career Mentor program CCTE offers.
How do you achieve your commitment to equity, excellence, and innovation in educator preparation in your everyday work as a teacher educator? In your work for CCTE?
In my everyday work as a teacher educator, I integrate culturally responsive and community-informed frameworks (e.g., Community Cultural Wealth; Yosso, 2005), the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework, and embed advocacy and systems-level thinking into educator preparation coursework and candidate supervision. My research on family empowerment and legislative advocacy informs how I prepare candidates to collaborate with families as partners and to understand IDEA, transition mandates, and adult service systems not merely as compliance structures but as equity levers.
How did you become actively involved with CCTE?
I became familiar with CCTE through an online search and through colleagues who shared information about the organization’s mission and ongoing work in advancing educator preparation across the state.