Provision of adequate special education services within an individual rural school district is often not feasible, so cooperative arrangements seem a logical alternative. Cooperative arrangements vary on many dimensions including: number of school districts served, mode of governance, funding sources, staffing patterns, services rendered, professional personnel employed, and stated goals. This study examined cooperative arrangements for special education in rural areas to determine which were most effective in implementing special education procedures mandated under the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (PL 94-142). The relationship of size to compliance with these mandates was also studied. No significant relationships emerged between type of cooperative arrangement or number of students served and any of the compliance measures. Large cooperatives (greater than 2,000 square miles) reported the greatest degree of compliance while medium sized cooperatives (851 to 2,000 square miles) experienced the most difficulty. Despite this finding, respondents frequently cited distance as hampering the provision of special education services because of the time required for travel. (DHP)