This paper reports on a study of the factors influencing the educational placement choices of 25 rural parents of children who are deaf. Specifically, the study: (1) traced the placement decisions from the time their child's hearing loss was first documented to the transition periods into elementary and middle school; (2) identified the resources that parents utilized in making these decisions; and (3) explored the various parenting styles that emerged as families made educational choices. Questionnaires and parent interviews were utilized in rural areas of Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, North Carolina and Tennessee. Section 1 documents parent responses and summarizes the study results concerning the initial "shock" of the diagnosis; resources parents used; issues in the transition into elementary school; issues in the transition into middle school; styles of parenting; and advice to other parents. Section 2 offers conclusions and samples of parent comments, while Section 3 offers background information on educational placement options, federal legislation, and rural special education. Finally, Section 4 provides more details about the study's research design, population sample, and data analysis. A glossary of terms is provided. (Contains 50 references.) (DB)