Public Law 94-142, passed in November of 1975, requires that the states provide "equal educational opportunity" to the handicapped. This law thus serves as an excellent example of mandated or "power-coercive" change, in which change is generated from the outside through the use of political and economic sanctions. Sociology's conflict theory perspective, as represented by Ralf Dahrendorf and Randall Collins, argues that coercion results in attempts either to fight back or to escape, or if neither outlet is available, to comply as minimally as possible. When the federal government mandates change in a system as susceptible to power influences as education, the entire social environment can be affected. This paper provides a framework for analyzing mandated change in education by outlining the problems in four specific areas affected by P.L. 94-142: federal control, parental involvement, staff-administrative relationships, and resource linkage systems. (Author/PGD)