The Portal for Michigan School Law Research

Research Checklist and Quick Links to Authorities

It is your advantage as an attorney to identify the applicable rules for any legal issue as early as possible. This portal has been created to help you. The lists below can be used as “checklists” of authorities when addressing any issue. The authorities are listed in rough order (starting with nearest authority—at the school level—and moving to state and federal laws), with active links provided whenever possible.

A. Jump to Research Student Rights Issues

B. Jump to Research Special Education Issues

C. Jump to Research School Employment Issues

D. Jump to Do a Caselaw Search

E. Jump to Litigation and Court Rules

F. Jump to Legal Writing and Citation Guides

G. Jump to Legal Ethics

A. Student Rights Issues

• Student/Athletic Handbook 

• Board of Education Policies 

• College Code of Conduct or Code of Academic Misconduct 

• Enforceable Contracts (e.g. private school attendance contract, IEP, etc.)

• Michigan Administrative Code (Michigan Regulations)

  • State Tenure Commission (R. 38.131 to R. 38.179)

  • Superintendent of Public Instruction (R. 340.1 to R. 380.23)

• Michigan Legislature (Michigan Statutes)

  • Chapter 380 - The Revised School Code

  • Chapter 388 - Schools and School Aid

  • Chapter 389 - Community Colleges

  • Chapter 390 - Universities and Colleges

  • Chapter 393 - Deaf and Blind

  • Chapter 395 - Vocational Training

  • Chapter 397 - Libraries

• Michigan Constitution

  • Article VIII - Education

• Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 

  • Family Education Rights Privacy Act FERPA - INDEX (34 CFR Part 99)

  • Title VI Regulations (race, color, national origin discrimination; 28 C.F.R. § 42.101 et seq.)

  • Title IX Regulations (34 CFR Part 106)

• Federal Statutes (United States Code)

  • Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (race, color, national origin discrimination; 42 USC 2000d)

  • Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 USC 2000e, et seq.)

  • Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. §791)

  • Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA; 42 U.S.C. § 12101)

  • Title IX of the Educational Amendments (sex discrimination; 20 U.S.C. §1681 et seq.)

U.S. Constitution 

B. Special Education Issues

• Research Sequence: It is helpful to have a sequence for researching special education issues. Start from the top down until you find a rule addressing your issue:

1. IDEA (Federal Statute): 20 U.S.C Section 1400, et seq. INDEX (primarily Part B)

2. IDEA (Regulations): 34 C.F.R. Section 300.00 et seq. INDEX (Subparts A-H) (Interpreting IDEA in greater detail)

3. Michigan Administrative Rules for Special Education (MARSE) with Related IDEA Federal Regulations

4. MDE Office of Special Education (OSE) Guidance

5. USDOE Office of Special Education Programming (OSEP): Archived Policy Letters (Opinions issued by the office, indexed by year and topic, interpreting regulations. Note: Policy Letters are different from Policy Support Documents)

6. ERIC: Educational Resources Information Center (More research-oriented and for education broadly, but can be useful if you need help finding or applying a rule)

• Additional Special Education Resources:

  • MDE Dispute Resolution Options

    • MDE Special Education Dispute Resolution Options

    • Special Education Mediation Services (SEMS)

  • ADA and Section 504:

    • Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act: 34 CFR Part 104

    • Title II of the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA)

    • FAQ on Applicability of Section 504 and the ADA

C. School Employment Issues

• Employee Handbook 

• Board of Education Policies 

• Employment Contract

• Severance Agreement (Checklist for Reviewing Agreements)

• Michigan Code of Educational Ethics

• Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 

  • Family Education Rights Privacy Act FERPA - INDEX (34 CFR Part 99)

  • Title VII Regulations (29 CFR XIV)

  • Title IX Regulations (34 CFR Part 106)

• Federal Statutes (United States Code)

  • Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 USC 2000e, et seq.)

  • Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. §791)

  • Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA)

  • Title IX of the Educational Amendments (20 U.S.C. §1681 et seq.)

  • Age Discrimination in Employment Act (29 U.S.C. §621)

  • Equal Pay Act (29 U.S.C. § 206(d))

• U.S. Constitution 

D. Caselaw Search

• State and Federal Caselaw (Legal databases available via bar memberships and law libraries) 

  • Fastcase (State Bar of Michigan)

  • Cases, Opinions & Orders (Michigan Supreme Court)

  • Decisis Legal Research Database

    1. Quick Instructions to access Decisis

    2. Decisis: Click HERE to log into OSBA (for Access to Decisis)

  • Judy Records (Search all US Court Cases)

  • Court Listener (Seach all US Cases, from the Free Law Project)

E. Litigation and Court Rules

State and Local Court Rules:

• Michigan Current Rules, Administrative Orders and Jury Instructions

• Michigan Rules of Evidence

Federal Court Rules:

• Federal Rules of Civil Procedure

  • ED Michigan Local Rules

  • WD Michigan Local Rules

• Federal Rules of Evidence

F. Legal Writing and Citation Guides

• Michigan Appellate Opinion Manual

• Federal Court Citation Manual (Bluebook Guide)

• Legal Bluebook ( U: elizabeth@abdnour.com; PW: !frassish5! )

G. Legal Ethics

• Michigan Rules of Professional Conduct (for Attorneys)