Guidelines for state education agency (SEA) personnel who are responsible for the development and implementation of needs assessment activities are presented, with specific reference to the state's Comprehensive System of Personnel Development (CSPD). The guidelines were developed to promote compliance with Public Law 94-142. The following four criteria for an effective needs assessment system are examined: the organizational structure, the planning process, the information gathering procedures, and the analysis and use of information. The varied roles of the SEA, the local education agency, the institutions of higher education, and the interrelationships of these agencies in participatory planning are outlined. Suggestions for determining the kinds of information and methods needed to conduct a needs assessment in the context of CSPD are included, along with questions of concern to an SEA administrator, a local director of special education, and a college/university department head. General data collection guidelines, guidelines for designing needs assessment forms, and a sample grid that can be used to choose the appropriate information collection technique for each research question are presented. Finally, obligations for the use of needs assessment information, beneficial uses of results, and quality control concerns are identified. Thirty-five references are appended. (SEW)