This report contains a description and an analysis of the process through which Nebraska State government establishes policy for its public elementary and secondary schools. The report focuses on the role and the impact of the various actors, official and unofficial, who become involved at the State level in setting public school policy. The data came from investigating the way in which three recent education decisions -- one each in the areas of school finance, teacher certification, and educational planning and evaluation -- were determined and from obtaining the perceptions of the influence relationships characterizing the operation of the State education policy system held by a cross-section of participants. In late 1972 and early 1973, formal interviews were conducted with major policy actors including the Governor, members of the Governor's staff, legislative leaders, the Commissioner of Education, members of the State Board of Education, staff members of the State Department of Education, and leaders of the education interest groups. Although policy actors and their relationships are the primary concerns of this study, a brief statement of the socioeconomic, political, and institutional context is set forth. (Author)