A complex and multi-faceted problem faces those seeking to provide special education to the thousands of handicapped children residing in the nation's rural areas. The major challenge facing rural administrators is how to deliver special education effectively to small numbers of handicapped children who are probably scattered geographically. A rural district may contain a wide range of handicapped conditions spread over multiple grade levels; few teachers can deal with such a diverse array of conditions. Rural districts tend to be those lowest in income and cannot easily supply facilities or special equipment or recruit specialists to provide the range of special educational services required by state and federal laws. Regionalization of several school districts can allow for a wider range of services, but often the distances involved are prohibitive. Federal, state, and court mandates have given rise to a number of training, analysis, and resource coordinating activities, and the 1970's have been a time of great expansion and change in special education for rural areas. The U.S. Bureau of Education for the Handicapped has invested in such endeavors as 16 Regional Resources Centers, 19 Direction Service Centers, and a number of collaborative agreements with other major federal agencies. Efforts undertaken within individual states are described at the conclusion of this document and the author lists a number of recommendations for future efforts. (DS)