Increasing Preservice Curriculum Accountability to Rural Handicapped Populations

Alarming inadequacies of the quantity and quality of rural special education personnel have become an increasing concern of the U.S. Office of Special Education Programs and the U.S. Congress. Although many difficulties of serving rural handicapped children may remain for years, appropriate preservice training for rural special educators can begin to address serious recruitment and retention problems while training potentially better quatified personnel. Promising initiatives described in this article are data-based, use existing resources of higher education institutions, and involve collaboration among a national consortium of special educatlon training programs. Fotential benefits for rural handicapped populations are noteworthy.