Professors collaborate on book used nationwide

Susan Jacob, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus of Psychology, and Dawn Decker, Ph.D., Professor of Special Education collaborated on the book, “Ethics and Law for School Psychologists (8th ed.).” The textbook is an important resource for most school psychology programs across the nation because it is the only textbook specifically written about ethical and legal considerations.  

This book is designed to help school psychology students and practitioners plan for the ethical and legal issues that school psychologists face every day.  The book includes the most up-to-date standards and requirements while introducing ethical codes, ethical decision making and the legal foundations that protect the rights of students and their parents.   

The first edition of “Ethics and Law for School Psychologists” was published in 1991 by Jacob and CMU psychology faculty member Timothy Hartshorne, Ph.D., after they noticed an absence of instructional resources that could be used to teach school psychology graduate students about legal and ethical issues in the field.  

When Decker joined CMU faculty in Special Education in 2005, Jacob invited her to collaborate on the sixth edition and they have since published the seventh and eighth editions working together. Jacob received the National Association of School Psychologists’ Presidential Awards in 2012 and 2018 for her contributions to the field in ethics and law and in 2021 she was honored with their “Legends in School Psychology” award.  

This story is brought to you by the  Office of Research and Graduate Studies.