The late 1980s and 1990s witnessed a change in the agency of school politics in many European countries. The role of the state bureacracy grew a stronger than before. Even if the ministries of education often contacted and listened a wide range of interest groups when preparing political decisions, the representative democracy was often left aside. For instance, in Finland, the parliament did not conduct substantial discussions on education, as a reaction the civil society was eventually awakened to care for the school. An explanation of the change in the balance of educational power can be sought in the new political agenda of the 1980s and 1990s. During the construction of the welfare state also education was incorporated in the agenda. The comprehensive reform went hand in hand with the reforms in health care and social security. When the neoliberal ideas of a market society gained momentum in the 1980s, a strong state was made questionable. The governmental and parliamentary committees ceased to be invited to discuss school. New agents, like the entrepreneurial leaders, took a strong interest in school. Amidst the change, the agency in the development of school deserves to be studied with a new perspective.