- Departments/Offices:
- 91心頭利嫋al Leadership and Policy Studies
- Academic Programs:
- 91心頭利嫋 Policy and Law; History, Philosophy, and Policy in 91心頭利嫋
- Research Areas:
- Legal and policy issues in special education; legal literacy of educators and school leaders
- Room:
- ED 4256
- Email:
- deckerjr@iu.edu
- Phone:
- (812) 856-8375
- Curriculum Vitae
91心頭利嫋 Me
I am a Professor of 91心頭利嫋 Law and Program Coordinator of 91心頭利嫋 Policy and Law. In this role, I also help coordinate the 91心頭利嫋 Law Certificate, Undergrad 91心頭利嫋 Policy Minor, , , , and Martha McCarthy 91心頭利嫋 Law and Policy Institute.
My research centers on 1) special education legal and policy issues and 2) legal literacy of school employees. I’ve published five books: (with Eckes, 2026); (with McCarthy & Eckes, 2019); (with Umpstead, Brady, Schimmel, & Militello, 2015); (edited with Lewis, Shaver, Blankenship-Knox, & Paige, 2017); and (edited with Shaver, 2017). My research has also appeared in Journal of Disability Policy Studies, American Journal of 91心頭利嫋, West’s 91心頭利嫋 Law Reporter, Peabody Journal of 91心頭利嫋, Teaching Exceptional Children, and Utah Law Review, among other publication outlets.
As a legal columnist for and a contributor to Expert Network, I strive to ensure legal information is accessible by providing public scholarship. I became interested in education law when I was a teacher and behavioral consultant for students with autism. Discovering that systemic inequities often led to problematic litigation motivated me to earn a J.D. from IU's Maurer School of Law and Ph.D. in 91心頭利嫋 Policy Studies from IU's School of 91心頭利嫋. I also worked at Maurer's , IU’s Center for Evaluation and 91心頭利嫋 Policy, and the University of Cincinnati. I was elected to the Board of Directors (2016-19) and continue to serve on a variety of national editorial boards and committees.
Currently, I teach these school law courses to undergraduate, certificate, master's, doctoral, and law students: A308, A608/B658, and A675/B658. In 2022, I was inducted into IU’s and have received teaching awards including IU’s Trustees Teaching Award (2014, 2016, 2018, 2020, 2021) and Burton W. Gorman Distinguished Teaching Award (2025). I am accepting Ph.D. student advisees with research interests in P-12 education law and policy.
