Comprehensive staff development approaches described in this paper are based on on-site work with school districts and a 1980 National Rural Project investigation of problems experienced by over 80 rural districts and cooperatives across the country as they attempted to implement staff development programs. Three models are described which…

Despite problems, extraordinary progress has been made to provide a free and appropriate public education for handicapped students in rural America. A study of 75 school districts and cooperatives in 17 states revealed significant improvements in programs and services offered and types and ages of exceptional students served. Achievements included…

The 1983 study surveyed the largest number of rural LEAs/cooperatives to date plus a number of Bureau of Indian Affairs schools and examined previously unaddressed areas such as rural special education technology. Special education administrators from 200 rural school systems in all 50 states (4 from each state) were involved in this survey…

Addressing acute problems in delivery of services to rural handicapped students, the document emphasizes the need for relevant preservice training for special education teachers who will work in rural areas. A list of specific elements for inclusion in a rural-focused curriculum philosophy includes: training students possessing appropriate skills…

Major findings are presented of a national comparative study with two primary objectives: first, to identify performance of rural special education service delivery systems prior to the 1975 enactment of Public Law (PL) 94-142 and again during the 1979-1980 school year in providing a free, appropriate education for all handicapped children, with…

Rural school districts face nearly insurmountable obstacles to implementing the comprehensive special education programs mandated by PL 94-142, Education for All Handicapped Children Act. In order to identify workable strategies for rural special education delivery, a survey was conducted among state and local education agencies in 19 states…

Education service requirements mandated by Public Law 94-142 and Section 504 of the 1973 Vocational Rehabilitation Act emphasize the need for interorganizational relationships in rural schools. A survey of 43 special education cooperatives and 32 districts in 17 states indicates that by the 1979-80 academic year 97% had developed interagency…

Rural schools can help solve their special education problems by using advanced technology to provide instructional support (computer managed instruction, satellite television, library searches, resource networks, on-line testing), instructional applications (computer assisted instruction, reading machines, mobile vans, instructional television),…

A paper by the American Council on Rural Special Education formally requests that the National Commission on Excellence in Education recognize the differences between rural and non-rural schools and provide appropriately different strategies for implementing Commission recommendations. Factors of rural schools which should be considered by…

A review of five studies by the National Rural Project determined the impact of educational collaboratives on rural special education, including types of educational collaboratives, variations within collaborative structures, benefits of collaboratives for rural special education, problems related to regional service delivery structures, and…