The benefits and the role of speech communication courses in developmental education programs are examined in this paper. The first section outlines the need for a package of developmental classes that includes a course in speech communication to prepare students for college-level courses. It describes a successful developmental program for academically disadvantaged students at Jefferson Community College, which includes a speech communication course; cites studies showing the need for training in communication skills and reports results of a survey of instructors of freshman level courses that emphasizes the need for students to learn speech communication skills. The second section of the paper suggests 11 criteria for developmental programs, related to such areas as institutional priorities, educational objectives and philosophy, teacher characteristics, and accountability. The final section provides suggestions for designing a developmental speech course. Appendixes describe the Jefferson Community College courses that deal with speech communication skills and present tables of data about the program, its students, and the student retention rate. (GT)