This newsletter theme issue presents highlights from the "Seventeenth Annual Report to Congress" on the implementation, impact, and effectiveness of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). It presents 19 tables and 1 figure reproduced from the annual report. The issue covers: (1) funding for IDEA Part B and Chapter 1 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act; (2) child count data, by year from 1976-77 to 1993-94, by disability category, by age, and by state; (3) placement (data on students served in different educational environments); (4) exit (data on number and percentage of students exiting educational programs by disability); (5) personnel (data for special education teachers and other personnel); (6) infants, toddlers, and preschool children (number receiving early intervention services by state); (7) relationship of secondary school experiences to the early post-school results of youth with disabilities; (8) state and national assessments of students with disabilities; (9) special education finance; (10) assisting states and localities; and (11) serving students with disabilities in rural areas. (DB)