The volume presents proceedings from a 1981 conference on public policy issues in the education of handicapped children. Four major presentations are followed by reactions. Presenters were asked to address issues involving the nature and effectiveness of the current system for serving handicapped students, contributions of public policy to education for handicapped students, integration of special education with other systems, and the need for the restructuring of special education. The following papers are included: "The Emerging System for Educating Handicapped Children " by L. Lynn, Jr. and response by J. Frankl; "Effectiveness of Special Education" by G. Glass and response by M. Scriven; "Public Education: A System to Meet Its Needs" by R. Howsam and response by I. Simpson; and "How Can Special Education be Coordinated with Other Service Systems?" by D. Stedman and response by G. Dybwad. In addition, the volume contains five papers which focus on restructuring special education: "Special Education: The Cost of Experimentation" (F. Macchiarola, R. Bailey); "Great Expectations: Making Schools Effective for All Students" (R. Hersh, H. Walker); "Restructuring 'Special' School Programs: A Position Paper" (M. Reynolds, M. Wang); "Guides for Future Special Education Policy" (T. Joe, F. Farrow); and "The Effectiveness of Special Education: A Survey" (J. Brandl). Three concluding papers include a response to G. Glass by K. Charlie Laken, "Conference Reactions and Observations on Special Education in the 1980s" by M. Ziegler, and "Strategies for Special Education in the 1980s: A Conference Epilogue" by W. Copeland. (CL)