This paper reviews all of the 50 state plans required under Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in order to identify state initiatives dealing with the recruitment and retention of special education personnel. The beginning of the report explains the requirements under IDEA relevant to recruitment and discusses the importance of recruiting and retaining qualified special education teachers. Results of the analysis indicate: (1) 10 states have specific retention programs for special educators; (2) 33 states have inservice training to promote retention; (3) 2 states have special educator recruiting programs; (4) 27 states have minority recruiting programs; (5) 5 states have ethnic-specific recruiting programs; (6) 10 states have high school recruiting programs; (7) 10 states have programs for forgiving loans from institutions of higher learning; (8) 6 states have procedures for using paraprofessionals; (9) 19 states have mentor programs; (10) 7 states have training for mentors; (11) 23 states have specific techniques that address collaboration with institutions of higher education to enable better recruitment and retention for the state; and (12) 6 states have alternative certification. Appendices include descriptions of the recruitment and retention initiatives of the different states. (Contains 12 references.) (CR)