This book develops a framework to help policymakers and policy analysts understand and judge policy options, so they can construct alternatives to the reorganization of rural, small school districts. Chapter 1 introduces the reader to the book by stating the objectives and providing working definitions for "school district reorganization" and "rural, small school district." Chapter 2 highlights six major historical and contemporary pressures that will affect rural schools in the future, including socioeconomic changes detrimental to rural development, broader legal definition of state responsibilities for education, redirection of school excellence movement, and diverse changes in public opinion on education reform. Priority issues are presented in Chapter 3, for example,"concentrating on the characteristics of effective schools" and "responding to the realities of the information age." Chapter 4 considers the criteria that ought to be used in the formulation of a state's strategic policy goals for rural education and the policy instruments available to translate goals into tactical objectives and action plans. A range of policy options identified in Chapter 5 address the new pressures on state systems of elementary-secondary education. Chapter 6 concludes with a brief discussion of the hypothesized effects of the use of each option. This book contains numerous tables and figures, and approximately 200 references. (KS)