Rural school districts face a unique set of challenges. This dissertation focuses on two rural counties in three school districts in southeastern Ohio and examines the difficulties special education teachers and administrators in rural communities often face. Two special education teachers, a general education teacher, two principals, a special education administrator, and a superintendent describe their experiences and what they see as the greatest challenges school districts like theirs face. The common themes that emerged from these discussions were staffing shortages and access to needed services, parental involvement, and mental health and bullying. These issues need to be addressed by analyzing school funding, recruitment and retention of teachers, and paths to best meet the socio-emotional needs of students and teachers. Further research through additional qualitative methods to identify specific factors pertaining to the current state of special education teacher morale and overall district funding needs to be considered in the future. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]