Preliminary findings of this research effort provide support for the hypothesis that existing databases maintained by federal agencies for administrative or monitoring purposes can serve as useful data sources in special education policy research. The research explored the relationships among a number of state-level special education, fiscal, and demographic variables using existing national data from governmental and private sources. Data sources included the "Annual Report to Congress on the Implementation of Public Law 94-142," the National Center for Education Statistics, the Census Bureau, the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the National Education Association, and the Office of Special Education Programs. Data were compiled for three points in time: 1976-77, the first year that data were reported on the implementation of Public Law 94-142; 1980-81, a midpoint in the implementation process; and 1983-84, the most recent data available when the research project commenced. Data gathered included handicap identification rates; integration rates; per pupil expenditures; per capita personal income; percent of total educational revenue obtained from federal (but not special education) sources; percent of nonfederal educational revenue obtained from state sources; and percent of school-aged children living in rural areas, having minority status, or living in poverty. Nine figures and 43 tables of statistical data support the project findings. (JDD)