The monograph reviews legal principles derived from state and federal statutes, constitutions, and court cases (table listing over 350 cases is included) regarding the education of handicapped children. Following an executive summary, an introduction explains the scope of the booklet and lists the major sources of the rights of handicapped students. In subsequent sections, the following topics are addressed: substantative rights (federal constitutional sources, a free appropriate public education, individualized education programs, related services, the least restrictive environment, costs, sports, and access); procedural rights (informal dispute resolution, prior notice, evaluation procedure, and special considerations in discipline); and remedies (fund withholding, individual lawsuits). A concluding chapter summarizes common themes in special education laws, briefly recounts the impact of P.L. 94-142 on state governments, and notes the existence of state special education statutes as alternative legal sources of education rights for handicapped children. (Concluding the document are 448 footnotes, most of which reference either specific legislation or court litigation and tables showing the education clauses in state constitutions, state constitutional providions for equal treatment, right to an appropriate education under state statutes, and a comparison of state special education statutes. (CL)