Until recently other countries (Australia, Great Britain, the Scandinavian countries) have been well ahead of the United States in development of rural education policy, In 1969 and again in 1977 the U.S. Office of Education (USOE) produced task force reports with recommendations for rural education. The 1969 recommendations were very specific and concerned early childhood education, vocational education, institutional cooperation, funding guidelines, technical assistance for rural program planning and development, establishment of a rural unit within USOE, and creation of a rural programs research and design center. Broader in scope, the 1977 recommendations dealt with rural, migrant, Native American, and Bilingual/Bilcultural education. The report also acknowledged the effect on education of rural cultural tradition. Except for improved vocational education (largely a matter of state policy) and the ERIC program, there has been neither implementation of the recommendations nor much HEW effort regarding ongoing funding of rural education programs. The U.S. rural education policy has remained one of trying to fit all school systems into a single mold. However, cause for hope now exists in that rural education is an NIE priority for fiscal 1980; the Department of Agriculture and USOE are planning activities; and there is now some cooperation among federal agencies. (SB)