To assess the state's role as an instrument of national education policy, researchers examined four states' responses to federal programs under Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act and under the Education for All Handicapped Children Act. They focused, first, on how states' political and organizational contexts interacted with federal program characteristics to shape the response patterns of state education agencies (SEAs), and, second, on the consequences of SEA response patterns for federal policy objectives. Data were gathered through interviews with state legislators and staffers, SEA officers and personnel, professional and client groups, and others. The variables considered included federal and local policy and management choices, state governmental and resource contexts, state political culture (popular attitudes toward the political system), SEA organizational characteristics, local social and political contexts, school district characteristics, and program design and delivery. Research results indicate that a state's political culture, especially the state government's traditional relationship with local jurisdictions, is the chief factor affecting state and SEA implementation of federal programs. The researchers discuss the implications of their findings for federal block grant proposals and enforcement of federal program requirements. (Author/RW)