The coop was formed in 1977 to meet federal requirements mandated in 1975 by Public Law 94-142.  The law’s purpose was to assure that all children with disabilities have a free appropriate public education.  It was signed by President Gerald Ford and emphasized special education as well as related services to meet the needs of disabled students.  This law has been updated several times and is now known as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).  Since the inception of the coop in 1977, IDEA has greatly expanded the requirements of public schools to accommodate and serve disabled students.  The coop has also grown to meet the needs of area schools.

Andy Millman, Houston High School principal, was the first director of the Exceptional Child Education Cooperative.  He organized all Texas County schools, as well as Willow Springs, Mountain View, Winona, Eminence and Van Buren, to establish the special education cooperative.  He recognized a need for rural schools to be able to receive quality specialized services that individual schools were not able to access.  Mary Wood became the director in 1990, followed by Charlie Taylor in 1997, Lisa Cox in 2004, Eileen Fronterhouse 2005 and currently Lillian Collins in 2011.

The first coop was in the Houston superintendent’s office and consisted of three individuals.  The first diagnostic team was added in 1978 that included a nurse, Evelyn Behrens, and Mary Jane Lybyer, a speech/language pathologist.  Chris Honeycutt was the first secretary.  In fall 1978, the coop moved to a trailer behind the gymnasium, then to a building across from the Texas County Library.