Janet R. Decker (J.D., Indiana University; Ph.D., Indiana University) began her career as a special education teacher teaching students with autism. With a desire to affect policy change for students with disabilities, she received her law degree and Ph.D. in Education Policy Studies from Indiana University. Currently, Dr. Decker is an assistant professor at Indiana University’s School of Education, where she teaches school law courses to undergraduate and graduate students. Her research focuses on legal issues related to special education, autism, and charter schools. Prior to joining IU’s faculty, she was also a Fellow for IU’s Maurer School of Law’s Family and Children Mediation Clinic, a research associate at IU’s Center for Evaluation and Education Policy, and an assistant professor at University of Cincinnati. In 2011, the Education Law Association awarded her the Joseph C. Beckham Dissertation of the Year Award.