Resources available to Arizona through the School-to-Work Opportunities Act will not be concentrated in rural communities, although their educational and economic development needs are proportionately greater. Absent from education reform bills pending in the Arizona House and Senate is any reference to school-to-work transition or any explicit recognition of the need to prepare Arizona's work force. Arizona has established a long-range plan for economic growth and development--the Arizona Strategic Plan for Economic development (ASPED). Although educational reform policy neglects school-to-work issues, economic development policy represented by ASPED does refer to improving school-to-work transitions through expanded cooperative education and/or linkages. In terms of school reform, for a majority of rural Arizonans, there is no choice of school, and open enrollment and vouchers are virtually meaningless. Little more than lip service is paid to rural economic development issues. A fundamental dilemma for school-to-work transition efforts in rural areas is the lack of job opportunities for a work-based component. What is fundamentally disturbing about the omission of rural concerns in state policymaking is that Arizona's public policy fails to promote social equality and thereby contributes to the perpetuation of a rural underclass. State policymakers should develop a coherent strategy to address rural issues and the rural-urban dichotomy. (Contains 25 references.) (YLB)