Paul Luelmo, Ph.D.

Paul Luelmo, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Special Education in the area of Mild/Moderate disabilities at San Diego State University. His research focuses on addressing inequities in special education by working with families, teachers, and under-resourced racial and ethnic minority communities. His current research projects include a parent-to-parent advocacy intervention employing community-partnered participatory research to address autism service disparities in the Individualized Education Program (IEP). Additionally, he is working on improving special education paraprofessional training and he is currently employing improvement science methods to develop and refine a culturally responsive teacher candidate observation and feedback protocol. Dr. Luelmo is the Equity Implementation Research and Practice Coordinator for the San Diego LEND program. 

Paul received his B.A. in Political Economy from the University of California, Berkeley, in 2006. He received a teaching credential from San Diego State University in 2009. He received his M.A. in Special Education from California State University, Los Angeles in 2013 and a Ph.D. in Special Education from the University of California, Los Angeles in 2018.

Areas of Particular Interest/Expertise:

Step 1: Gather and Inquire

• Gathering Quantitative Data
• Gathering Qualitative Data
• Infrastructure Analysis

Step 2: Data and Root Cause Analysis

• Root Cause Analysis
• Prioritizing Factors Contributing to Significant Disproportionality

Step 3: Plan for Improvement

• CIM for CCEIS Action Plan Review

Step 4: Implementing and Monitoring

• Provide guidance around student tracking requirements