State governments are crucial actors in the nation's system of education governance. This issue of the "Peabody Journal of Education" underscores the wide-ranging roles that state governments play in the oversight, development, and implementation of elementary and secondary education policy in the United States. In this article, I consider these individual analyses by reflecting on the broader themes and patterns that they suggest. I argue that at the dawn of the 21st century, the 50 U.S. states face dynamic challenges that are testing their institutions of governance. States are also simultaneously crossing new frontiers that will influence future policy and opportunities for the nation's students. (Contains 5 figures.)