For the past two years The Boston Project, a Massachusetts State Department of Education sponsored activity, has provided planning and technical assistance to the Boston public school system's administrative leadership in their efforts to comply with that state's Comprehensive Special Education Law, Chapter 766--a prototype of P.L. 94-142, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act. This paper reviews some of the implications for policies, procedures, and program development learned during the experience and believed to be generalizable to school districts beginning to implement P.L. 94-142. The author maintains that while the challenges of these laws are substantial, they can be implemented responsibly with a proactive leadership on the part of school superintendents and special education administrators; data-based, theory-based planning; collaborative program planning by education and other human service agencies; extensive training, particularly focused on building principals and special education administrators; strong monitoring and directed technical assistance provided by federal and state agencies; and additional resources. (Author/IRT)