This paper analyzes the rise of "PRolicy" (Public Relations public policy) by examining the first Reagan Administration and its use of media manipulation. The paper also explores how PRolicy influences educational policy. It draws on a two-pronged methodological approach that involved media analysis and historical policy analysis with a focus on how elected officials employ symbolic messages to shape educational policy. The paper analyzes the role of agenda-setting in PRolicy and the manipulation of American political, cultural, and religious symbols as a means of generating support for their policy proposals. It details how PRolicy has been part of the American presidency since the Nixon era and how Reagan used PRolicy as a central feature of policy formation, particularly his administration's use of PRolicy to reform education. Reagan's championing of school prayer, his efforts to dismantle the Department of Education, and the publication of "A Nation at Risk" all served to advance his agenda. The paper outlines how the Reagan Administration took "A Nation at Risk," a damaging critique of Reagan's educational policy, and turned it into a public-relations tour for the president. It concludes with a general discussion of PRolicy and implications for educational policy researchers, teachers, and administrators. Contains 48 references. (RJM)