Dr. Mary Frances Hanline is a Professor in the School of Teacher Education at Florida State University. She specializes in early childhood special education and the education of learners with severe disabilities. She teaches courses in these areas and coordinates the online Special Education Studies M.S. program. Currently, her interests are centered on the effectiveness of inclusive, developmentally appropriate, play-based intervention. She has served as principal investigator of numerous U.S. Department of Education research, demonstration, and personnel preparation grants; publishes in professional journals, and presents at professional conferences.

In her position as an FSU professor, she teaches courses such as Development and Assessment of Individuals with Severe Disabilities, Typical and Atypical Early Development, and Assessments and Methods in Early Childhood Special Education. She received a Graduate Teaching Award in 2015 and was nominated in 2011, 2008 and 2007.

Dr. Hanline is a member of the FSU Faculty Senate and the College of Education Curriculum Committee. Further, she is a member of By-Laws Revision, Promotion and Tenure, and Faculty Advisor Committees in the School of Teacher Education, and Chair of the STE Curriculum Committee. She is also a reviewer of several refereed journals including Journal of Early Intervention, Teaching Exceptional Children, and Journal of Research in Childhood Education.

She earned her Ph.D. in Special Education from the University of California, Berkley.