The first part of a 3-year evaluation of the Special Education Program in the Austin (Texas) Independent School District (AISD) was conducted during the first half of the 1985-86 school year. The goals of this first-year evaluation were to describe the programs and services provided to special education students in AISD, compare these programs and services with those required by federal and state law and local policy, and provide decisionmakers with basic context information so that decisions about special education could be better informed. AISD was found to be meeting all legal and regulatory requirements and to be exceeding them in some service areas, specifically in providing transportation services for special education students. AISD's Special Education serves the highest percentage of students of any of the eight largest Texas school districts and identifies larger percentages of students as learning disabled and emotionally disturbed than are identified in other urban Texas school districts (except San Antonio), in the state as a whole , and in the nation. The annual cost for a full-time equivalent special education student is $8,365, nearly three-and-one-half times the cost for a full-time regular education student, with instructional costs comprising two-thirds of the total special education costs. (VW)