Families challenging a school’s special education decisions can use a state complaint or pursue due process, but the two routes differ in their procedures and protections. Michigan is considering whether its education department should be able to keep a student in their current classroom or specialized program while it investigates a state complaint.
In September, the Michigan Department of Education released proposed revisions to the Michigan Administrative Rules for Special Education, according to Bridge Michigan. The proposal would remove the department’s authority to require a student to remain in their current classroom or specialized program during a state complaint investigation. The department says the goal is to “properly align language with MDE's actual authority.” Spokesperson Bob Wheaton said the stay-put provision as written applies to legal proceedings, not departmental investigations, and that the change would align state rules with federal disability law.
A state special education complaint is free to file and is investigated by Michigan’s Office of Special Education. It is distinct from due process, a more formal route that may be initiated by a parent, school district or the state and can lead to a hearing before an administrative law judge. A state complaint does not automatically trigger a stay-put order; the department can invoke that protection at its discretion. Bridge Michigan reported that the department has used the provision once in the nearly five decades of the state complaint process.
Advocates Push Back on Losing a Rarely Used Safeguard
Heather Eckner, education director at the Autism Alliance of Michigan, told Bridge Michigan that removing the option could cost students instructional time and lead to “behavioral or emotional regression.” She argued that the state should enforce the existing protection rather than eliminate it. The outlet also reported that a coalition of Michigan parents, advocates and attorneys opposes the change.
Toby Ward told Bridge Michigan the proposal would remove a major protection for students and affect parents’ rights. Margo Pierce warned that families could be left with no alternative but due process if a school seeks to change a child’s placement. She said a placement change can take effect within 15 days even if a parent disagrees, and that some parents fear retaliation for filing complaints.
Federal law requires a child to remain in their current educational setting during due-process proceedings unless the parents and state or local agency agree otherwise, under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. But due process can be costly: special education lawyer Jacquelyn Kmetz estimated to Bridge Michigan that proceedings cost between $30,000 and $40,000. The reporting also noted that a federal complaint can take years to resolve and that Michigan has a shortage of special education lawyers, limiting families’ options.
Lower-cost options for families
Families weighing due process can also consider other dispute-resolution options. The Michigan Department of Education says anyone may file a state complaint on behalf of a child, student or young adult with a disability ages 0 to 26. The department’s procedures say its Special Education Mediation Services program provides mediation at no cost to the complainant or the district.
Comments Pour In, But Decision Still Pending
The state has received more than 200 public comments on the proposed changes over six weeks, and Wheaton said the department will consider them before making a final decision on the rule.
The rule fight comes as Michigan has formed a bipartisan special education committee, though the state has not yet held wide community engagement sessions statewide. The committee's first listening session is planned for Saginaw today. Glenn Maleyko started as state superintendent in December 2025, and the deputy superintendent overseeing special education started in April 2026 — both relatively new to their posts as this debate unfolds.
A System Already Straining Under Rising Complaints
The proposed rule change lands amid a broader surge in friction between families and schools. Since 2018, state investigations stemming from parent complaints jumped 21%, while Michigan's overall population of special education students grew just 3.6%, according to Michigan Public. The department has reported using 12 full-time staffers and nine contracted staff to investigate state complaints statewide.
Michigan had 226,800 students receiving special education services last school year, a population that includes people from birth to age 26 with an individualized education plan or individualized family service plan outlining their goals and needed supports. Separately, the Michigan Department of Education told MLive that the number of students receiving services rose from 208,543 in 2018-19 to 223,100 in 2024-25. In 2023-24, families filed written complaints at a rate of 12.5 per 10,000 children statewide, and 6.6 per 10,000 were found to be out of compliance, per the MLive report. The outlet also cited an Autism Alliance of Michigan finding that just 21% of preschool-aged children with disabilities received at least 10 hours of special education and related services in their regular early childhood program as of 2023, compared with a 43% national average.
Michigan parent Andrea Lee's experience illustrates how drawn-out the complaint process can get: she filed more than two dozen complaints and four legal grievances over Howell Public Schools' treatment of her three children with disabilities. In response, the department determined the district had violated some rules, while other complaints from Lee did not result in violations. Michigan schools more broadly continue to face high special education teacher shortages, even as state complaints rise faster than special education enrollment statewide.
