Pennsylvania Portal for 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.)

• Pennsylvania Act of 1949 (Pennsylvania Education Statutes)

  • Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit Program

  • Educational Improvement Tax Credit Program

    • Community School or Charter Schools INDEX

    • Career-Technical Schools Article XVIII

    • E-School

    • Homeschooling

  • Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) Bylaws

    • § Constitution and By-Laws

    • § Policies and Procedures

    • § Rules and Regulations

    • § Sports Medicine Guidelines

  • The Pennsylvania Independent Schools Athletic Association (PAISAA)

    • Constitution and By-Laws

  • k12 Broad of Education INDEX Articles III to V

    • Regular Meetings of BOE

    • Special Meeting of BOE

    • Suspension/Expulsion

    • Compulsory Attendance

      • School Age

      • Right to Education

    • Career and Technical Education INDEX

    • State System of Higher Education

  • Pennsylvania Code

    • Title 22- Education Index (PC Title 22)

    • Public School Operating Standards INDEX

    • Private Schools Operating Standards INDEX

    • State Board Of Private Academic Schools

    • k12 Broad of Education INDEX Articles III to V

    • Regular Meetings of BOE

    • Special Meeting of BOE

    • Suspension/Expulsion Authority

      • Definitions and Due Process

    • Compulsory Attendance

    • Career and Technical Education INDEX

    • Higher Education

    • k12 Laws Affecting Students INDEX

      • Students Rights and Responsibilities (22 Pa. Code Section 12)

        • PDF Version of 22 Pa. Code Section 12

      • State Sovereign Immunity

      • State Sovereign Exceptions  

      • Protected Handicapped Students

      • Special Education for Gifted Students  

      • Special Education Services and Programs

      • Special Education Schools

      • HS Career Tech Schools

      • Community or Charter Schools INDEX

    • Pennsylvania Constitution

• 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. Pennsylvania Administrative Rules for Special Education

4. PDE 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:

  • Pennsylvania Special Education

    • Protected Handicapped Students

    • Special Education for Gifted Students

    • Special Education Services and Programs

    • Special Education Schools

  • 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)

• Code of Professional Responsibility (Educators)

  • Title 22 (Pennsylvania Regulations)

    • Certification of Professional Personnel

    • Educator Effectiveness Rating Tool

• Act of 1949 (Pennsylvania Education Statutes)

  • State Board of Education and Pennsylvania Dept. of Education

  • K12 School Employment Laws

    • Duty to Employ

    • Substitutes

    • Professional Employee Contracts

    • Termination of Contract

    • Reduction in Force (aka RIF or Contract Suspension)

    • Educator Contract Suspension (or RIF) Process

    • Educator Licensure Suspension or Revocation (by PDE) - Statutes and Regs

• 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 

• Constitution of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

D. Caselaw Search

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

  • State Library of Pennsylvania

  • Fastcase (Pennsylvania Bar Association)

  • 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:

  • State Library of Pennsylvania

  • Fastcase (Pennsylvania Bar Association)

  • Penn. Rules of Civil Procedure

  • Penn. Rules of Evidence

• Federal Court Rules:

  • Federal Rules of Civil Procedure

  • United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania

  • United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania

  • United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania 

  • Federal Rules of Evidence

F. Legal Writing and Citation Guides

• Pennsylvania Citation Guide

• Federal Court Citation Manual (Bluebook Guide)

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

G. Legal Ethics

• Pennsylvania Rules of Professional Conduct (for Attorneys)