This paper considers how acceptance of arguments for the rights of parents to choose their children's schools would affect the regulatory and fiscal policies that underlie the existing mixed public/private system. The paper first reviews the existing system, describing state and federal methods for providing financial assistance to private education and the extent to which public and private schools are subject to regulation. School control, teacher hiring and firing, student selection and discipline, and school curriculum are noted as areas where the major differences in regulation exist. The paper next considers the reasons that parents may cite for selecting private education, then explores specific arguments that may be made to support parental claims to a right to choice. Factors affecting the acceptability of these arguments are reviewed, and possible methods for rebalancing the allocation of educational support are examined. The paper next considers constitutional limitations on such changes. The paper concludes with a discussion of changes in regulatory policy that could either restrict or enhance parental choice. The capacity of various agencies to institute change, and the kinds of changes that are permitted in light of court interpretations of constitutional requirements, are reviewed. (PGD)