THE PERSON OR ORGANIZATION

Data collected from 19 state education agencies through questionnaires and interviews focused on special problems and approaches in rural areas for complying with four major aspects of P.L. 94-142, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act: individualized education programs (IEPsi, least restrictive environment (LRE) , procedural safeguards, and parental participation. Cultural, geographic, climatic, socioeconomic, and other inhibiting factors were analyzed. Three primary inhibiting factors were identified in rural schools: teacher retention and recruitment problems, rural attitudinal problems, and problems based on rural geography. Problems were found to emanate from tradition bound rural environments and to be exacerbated by geographic and climatic denands of remote, isolated areas. (Author/CL) * Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made * * from the original document. * U S DEPARTMr,NT OF HEALTH, r.sr