A New Hampshire school district denied a special education program to a severely handicapped and profoundly retarded child. The Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the child. Reviews the legal history of "Timothy W. et al. v. Rochester et al." Advises school districts of actions to take to avoid such cases. (30 references) (MLF)

Since each disabled student must be considered individually, planning and implementing a realistic individualized education program while meeting the mandates of the law will always be difficult. The primary objective of educational diagnosis should be to determine the child's present level of functioning. (JN)