Research & Evaluation
Multi-level studies of special education policy, an inclusive college-readiness curriculum, and what happens when systems meet the people they're meant to serve.
Applied Researcher · Educator · Disability Advocate
Shahin Pamatmat
I study how people experience complicated systems — and spend most of my time trying to make those systems work better for the people inside them.
PhD candidate in Education at UC Davis, working at the intersection of special education policy, disability, and inclusive design. Also known to spend an evening building fantastical worlds with my daughter in Minecraft, serenading my partner with dulcet, wildly off-key vocal splendor (her patience is a marvel), and adventuring through Faerûn or the Feywild.
It doesn't stop being magic just because you know how it works.
Projects & Interests
A Lord of the Rings–inspired Minecraft typography mod, and a music library project that's less about tagging than untangling years of inconsistent metadata.
Writing
Notes and essays on disability, research, accessibility, and technology — including where inclusive pedagogy meets tabletop games. Still filling in — check back soon.
California · 2024–25
Disability changes the likelihood of exclusion.
California's overall suspension rate has declined, but students with disabilities remain about twice as likely to be suspended as students without disabilities.
2.01×
About 1 in 20 California students with disabilities were suspended at least once in 2024–25, compared with about 1 in 40 students without disabilities.
Source: California Department of Education, 2024–25 Suspension Data →