The report examines the status and needs of behaviorally handicapped students in Maine. It describes the referral and identification process, program characteristics, current problems and issues. The first section presents statistics related to prevalence, types of programs received, costs of special education, and the certification and supply of special education teachers. The second section describes a study of 94 randomly selected behaviorally handicapped students receiving special education programs. Discussed are reasons for referral, the referral process, assessment procedures, and major components of the individualized education program (IEP) for students assigned to resource programs, special education classrooms, and residential treatment centers. Among conclusions are the following: most behaviorally handicapped students were initially referred to special education prior to the end of the third grade; one-third of the sample reported contact with state and community services; the determination that a student is behaviorally handicapped was often made without systematically obtained assessment data; most (58%) students were viewed by teachers as having significant learning problems in addition to behavioral handicaps; students were mainstreamed an average of 28% of their school day; most elementary resource teachers were certified in the area of learning disabilities; and, achievement tests and tests of intelligence were the most frequently used measures of student progress. (DB)