As part of a larger study which investigated the educational aims of black parents who send their children to private desegregated schools, a survey was taken to examine the relationship between parental involvement and students' peer acceptance. "Parental involvement," knowing how to obtain the information necessary to support the child's schooling, was distinguished from "parental participation," direct engagement in school activities. The study sample consisted of 63 black and white children (Grades 4-8) and their parents, representing four different schools. Data were derived from parent interviews and child questionnaires, and such factors as family income and mother's education were used as measures of family background. The study found that parental involvement is an important predictor, both positively and negatively, of black children's peer acceptance in schools, even when typical predictors are controlled. Within this essentially middle-income group, the black children and their non-black friends revealed different predictors of peer acceptance on two acceptance measures used (Peer Study With and Peer Be With), but not on a third (Peer Can Influence). Black students whose parents are most likely to be personally involved in school committees, groups, and activities are least likely to be chosen as friends other students preferred to be with. These results point to the need for more studies which explore the implications of family-school relations for children's social development. (KH)