A system of Regional Educational Laboratories (RELs) was organized in December 1985 covering all 50 states and the territories. Each of the nine laboratories addresses regional needs for school improvement. This report (1) provides lab names, states served, and contact information; (2) describes REL tasks; and (3) focuses on REL collaboration on state policy. Each REL must address five tasks (two of these tasks must relate to working with state-level decisionmakers). Another task must relate to school improvement issues; examples of individual laboratory efforts include issue-specific analysis, research, and communication among state-level groups. Another task requires labs to "work in collaboration with centers and other labs on regional and national educational problems." One of the targeted themes, collaboration on state policy, aims to enhance policy support systems and to provide methods to share and extend labs' products and resources. Activities that have occurred or are planned for 1987 to support this theme include the following: (1) name a lab institutional coordinator; (2) conduct planning sessions; (3) develop a policy issues framework; (4) compile policy documents; and (5) work with state-level policy aides. Although it is early in the collaborative effort, a number of findings has already emerged. The labs should benefit from the networks established with national organizations, and the national organizations can use RELs to focus regional activity and to disseminate services. Efforts to identify and track reform activities seem to be particularly important to state decisionmakers; RELs' projected policy issue materials will be useful tools in the policy analysis process. The training of legislative aides is a key to the development of informed state policy for reform. (CJH)