This report focuses on the impact of the Federal Gun-Free Schools Act (GFSA) in the Michigan public schools. The research for this study was conducted as a project of the Ann Arbor-based Student Advocacy Center. The study's purpose is twofold: (1) explore the implications of Michigan's zero-tolerance policy for educational equity and equal opportunity; and (2) analyze the impact of state law on the lives of expelled students and their families. The 100 school districts selected for analysis were chosen according to geographic location, diversity of population, and annual rate of per-pupil spending. Freedom of Information requests were sent to all 100 superintendents asking for expulsion data from the 1995-96 and 1996-97 school years, disaggregated according to race, gender, special-education status, and free-lunch eligibility. Sixty-four districts responded with varying degrees of compliance. In addition to the district data, interviews with expelled students and their families were conducted. Civil-rights officials, local law-enforcement officers, superintendents, and mental-health professionals were also consulted for their opinions on the zero-tolerance policy. Results indicate that school officials often apply the policy in an arbitrary and capricious manner. Typically, the grounds for expulsion were not found in the mandatory section of the state law. (RJM)