The Virginia Board of Education adopted a resolution in May 1986 to establish a statewide elementary school guidance program within a 4-year period. A study group was formed to produce an objective, statewide study of principals' and superintendents' perceptions of this new program and to detect issues which could hinder program implementation. Two survey instruments, one for elementary school principals and one for superintendents, were developed. Results from surveys completed by 350 elementary school principals and 85 school superintendents revealed five major findings: (1) principals and superintendents supported the elementary guidance and counseling program; (2) both principals and superintendents strongly supported the existing certification requirements for counselors; (3) fewer than one-third of respondents had attended a state department of education regional orientation meeting on the new guidance and counseling program; (4) when ranking functions of elementary school guidance counselors, respondents chose as most important the provision of individual and group counseling for students; and (5) respondents ranked "funding a qualified, full-time guidance counselor" as their major concern about implementation of the program, and "availability of fully qualified guidance personnel" as their second concern. The study group made five recommendations based on the results of the survey. (Author/NB)