Education Law Selected Bibliography

(2) Education Law - Primary sources

Federal

At the law library, you have access to the official United States Code and Annotated Codes, as well as the Code of Federal Regulation in print and online.

Research tip: Start your research with secondary sources and case law. This research will direct you to the relevant code section, which could otherwise be difficult to find. The majority of education statutes may be in Title 20 of the U.S.C., but relevant education topics are found in various parts of the code. For example, Special Education Laws are primarily found in Title 20, but also are located in 29 U.S.C. §§ 701-718 (Rehabilitation Act of 1973) and in 42 U.S.C. §§ 12101 et seq. (The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Key Federal Education-Related Acts

Those interested in significant education-related acts can take a look at the statutes and the legislative histories for:

• Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), P.L. 91-230, codified as amended at 20 U.S.C. §1400 et seq. The pivotal Special Education Law legislation that helped ensure children with special needs would receive an education that would account for their disabilities.
• No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, P.L. 107-110, 115 Stat. 1425 (2001), majority codified in Chapter 70 of Title 20, 20 U.S.C. § 6301 et seq. This act created additional standards for secondary education to include: testing and teacher/school accountability.
• Post 9/11 GI Bill Education Assistant Act, P.L. 110-252, codified in 33 U.S.C. §§ 3301, 3311-3324. This legislation revamped veteran's education benefits and ensured that veterans would have enough financial support to pursue a college education).

Regulations

Finding an authorizing statute's corresponding regulations:

Parallel Table of Authorities and Rules in CFR Index and Finding Aids:

• The Parallel Table of Authorities and Rules is a finding aid that helps locate a regulation's authorizing statute. The Index also has a subject based index to find relevant sections by subject.
• Location: Unclassified Collection- North Reading Room
• Public Access: Available at http://www.gpo.gov/help/parallel_table.pdf

Federal Administrative Decisions

Congress has granted the Department of Education's Secretary the authority to adjudicate certain education-related legal issues. A Secretary's decision constitutes a final agency decision, and is generally the last administrative adjudicatory act before an appeal to federal court. You may end up researching these cases out of interest in the type of disputes heard, or are researching a federal case's procedural history.

Decisions of the Secretary (1989-present): Final agency decisions over cases adjudicated by the Secretary . Available online through the Department of Education (http://www.ed-oha.org/secretarydecisions.html).

The Department of Education also has decisions issues by the Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA). This office has divided education legal issues amongst four adjudicatory units:

• Office of Higher Education Appeals (adjudicates cases arising under Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965). (Public online coverage is from 1989-present).
• • Public Access: US Department of Education, http://www.ed-oha.org/ohadecisions.html.
• The Office of Administrative Law Judges (adjudicates cases that involve Federal impact aid, civil rights, recovery of funds, and general matters delegated by the Secretary of Education).
• • Public Access: United States Department of Labor-Office of Administrative Law Judges, http://www.oalj.dol.gov/.
• The Civil Rights Reviewing Authority (supervises administrative hearings and reviews and issues decisions for administrative appeals that fall under the non-discrimination provisions of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973).
• • STU Law Access: Available on LexisNexis (coverage from January 14, 1966 through January 14, 1997).
• The Alternative Dispute Resolution Center is set up to oversee an informal process that resolves U.S. Department of Education employee and job applicant disputes, work related complaints, and disagreements. The organization maintains an internal database of complaints/grievances that is not accessible to the public.
• • Public Access: Department of Education, http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ogc/adr-page.html

Education Case Law Searching (Federal and State)

• Westlaw's Education Tab
• • STU Law Access: STU law students, faculty, and staff can add the Education Law tab. This tab contains various education-related West databases, and includes the ability to search Education Law cases.
• Lexis Nexis Education Law subtab
• • STU Law Access: STU law students, faculty, and staff can search Education Law resources in Lexis Advance: Browse ? Topics ? Education Law

State Law and Regulations

Education Commission of the States - "State Legislation By State" Page

• The Education Commission of the States compiled links to online state statutes and administrative codes. Note: while states provide online copies of the statutes and administrative codes, these are typically unofficial sources, and should not be cited as the official sources.
• Public Access: http://www.ecs.org/state-legislation-by-state/