This review of current federal and state legislation provides information on characteristics of bilingual education programs, mandated by law, that are of importance to evaluators. The legislative summaries are presented in two sections: across-states summary of legislative provisions and state-by-state summary of legislative provisions. Information is presented in the following categories: type of program, population to be served, participation of English-speaking students, census (determining numbers of students eligible for the program), census mandate (when a program must be provided), description of the program, grades to be covered, length of time for students in the program, student/teacher ratio, teacher/staff requirements and qualifications, staff training, materials requirements, community participation, and student assessment and evaluation reporting requirements. States differ in goals for native language outcomes, definitions of the populations to be served, types of programs to be provided, and length of time students remain in the programs. In the evaluation of a bilingual program, it is important to consider these differences whether the program operates under state or federal requirements. Even when it operates under federal policy or funding, it is likely that the local program will be affected by the provisions of the state. (SW)