This article analyses changes that have occurred in the elementary education system in Mexico since 1992 when an administrative de-concentration process took place. This process was accompanied by legal modifications that created opportunities for social participation in public elementary schools affairs. As a result, some school communities in collaboration with non-governmental organizations and diverse interest groups created networks to develop educational projects. How can recent public administration theory help us understand this? New Public Management is examined and found wanting; some Governance approaches provide more opportunities to grasp what is essentially a new and changing relationship between government and civil society, and within civil society, in Mexican education. These changes point to a new understanding of the administrative de-concentration process initiated 16 years ago. (Contains 1 figure.)