Faced with a legal mandate to equalize educational resources available to its public elementary schools, can the Board of Education of the District of Columbia respond effectively to the public pressure for decentralization of its decision-making systems? The answer may be determined through the responses to two further questions: to what extent can the board legally involve local parent and citizen boards in decision-making at the school and regional levels; and to what extent can administrators and teachers at these levels legally participate in such decision-making? To determine the board's power to delegate or subdelegate its functions to local boards, it is necessary to analyze the District of Columbia Code, court decisions, union contracts, and other legal requirements. The authority of the board itself is restricted by its position in the District of Columbia's governing structure. This document first analyzes the extent of the board's authority and second considers in detail several major functions that might be decentralized, as well as the effects such decentralization could have. In general it is suggested that opportunities for decentralization exist and can be legally supported to an extent previously unexpected by past board members. (Author/PGD)