Responses from 230 New York State school districts were analyzed to determine the impact of the new State handicapped regulations with regard to financial impact, meeting the 30-day time period between initial referral of a handicapped child and board action, variances, and programming and placement according to 4 criteria. In general, small, rural, and large school districts saw the new regulations as being more costly and time-consuming for completion of paperwork than the old regulations for districts already overtaxed and understaffed. In addition to increased program costs because of increased staff time to complete paperwork, many districts expected the costs of self-contained classes and related services to increase with the new regulations. Complying with the 30-day time limit between initial referral and placement of a handicapped student posed problems for the 68% of the districts responding. Close to 70% of the respondent districts may need variances to comply with the new regulations to maintain reasonable special education programs. School districts currently operating under the new regulations liked the flexibility of combining handicapping conditions but found the paperwork burdensome. Many districts viewed the placement criteria as ambiguous. Programming for related services was expected to necessitate increased costs. Survey forms are appended. (CM)