Progress has been made in serving rural students with low-incidence handicaps after the implementation of Public Law 94-142, yet research indicates that this category of students is still the most difficult population to serve. Hence, designing least restrictive environment (LRE) services is crucial in further improving this type of program. Traditional models of service delivery to handicapped students are not appropriate for rural school systems because many presumed conditions for those models do not exist in rural settings. The diversity of rural communities requires the planner to consider multiple factors affecting LRE services. These factors are interrelated and their combinations should be stressed in service planning. Factors that cannot be controlled by the model designer are called "givens," such as population, distance from students to services, ages and disabilities of students, and existing personnel. Factors that can be manipulated by the planner are termed "variables," such as staff development, transportation, and staffing for services. Planners must manipulate "variables" after recognizing the "givens." As no model is directly transportable, various successful models are described: state funded and statewide models, local cooperative administrative models, the "resource room" model, and models that identify scarce resources, incorporate advanced technologies, or use paraprofessionals. (GGH)