Northern Illinois University
College of Law

Tiffany Puckett, J.D., Ph.D., is an associate professor of law at NIU College of Law. She teaches education law and contracts. She is a former prosecutor with McLean County State’s Attorney's Office and a former attorney for the District of Columbia Public Schools and Baltimore City Public Schools. Her research interests focus on how education laws and policies impact vulnerable students, including students with disabilities, minority students and pregnant/parenting teens. She has significant experience practicing in the areas of education law, real estate law, contracts and business formation. She is currently on the board of directors of the Education Law Association. She has a Ph.D. in education policy, organization and leadership and a J.D., both from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Professor Puckett also serves as Northern Illinois University’s representative to the Illinois Board of Higher Education Faculty Advisory Council.  Professor Puckett is the faculty advisor for the Black Law Students Association (BLSA) at NIU.

Publications

• Brady, K., Umpstead, R. and Puckett, T. (Eds). (In Progress). A Guide to Special Education Law. Education Law Association.
• Puckett, T. and Craig, M. (2024). We are still separate and definitely unequal: Reflections of school leaders in urban schools. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 37(9), 2653-2671.
• Harris, L. N., Jones, J., Pasley, M., Liberty, L. M., and Puckett, T. (2024). Do dyslexia laws help students with visual impairments receive needed reading supports? A mixed-methods approach. Children and Youth Services Review, 165, 107881.
• Puckett, T. (2024). Disciplining Students with Disabilities. In Umpstead, R. and Muniz, R. (Eds.), Principal's Legal Handbook (pp. 327-348). Education Law Association.
• Wilson, G., Puckett, T., and Eckes, S. (2021, April. Homeschooling and COVID-19: Legal Considerations. Principal Leadership.
• Bell, C. and Puckett, T. (2020). I Want To Learn But They Won’t Let Me: Exploring the Impact of School Discipline on Academic Achievement. Urban Education, 58(10), 2658-2688.
• Puckett, T., Graves, C., and Sutton, L.C. (2019). Redefining School Discipline: Illinois and Other States’ Responses to Negative Impacts. AASA Journal of Scholarship and Practice. 16(1): 20-47.
• Sutton, L., Beese, J and Puckett, T. (2017). Special Need Students in the Struggle for the Character of Schooling in America, International Journal of Educational Reform, 26(4), 273-289.
• Lubienski, C, Puckett, T. and Brewer, T. J. (2013). Does Homeschooling “Work”? A Critique of the Empirical Claims and Agenda of Advocacy Organizations. Peabody Journal of Education, 88(3), 378-392.