Current debates on the extent, if any, to which private or independent schools should be supported by public funding, focus on the appropriate role of the state in the governance and regulation of schooling, with proponents on the ideological right and left reaching very different conclusions. Advocates of public funding for private schools deplore the state monopoly over education. Competition on a level playing field between the public and private sectors would, from this perspective, improve the quality and accountability of public schooling, which allegedly fails to meet the diverse and legitimate educational aspirations of many families and communities. Opponents of state aid to independent schools believe that equity, integration and social cohesion can only be achieved through public education and that private schooling generally serves the interests of the privileged or of those with overly narrow, sectarian educational agendas. But these arguments become murkier and less ideologically straightforward when the themes of cultural diversity and human rights are considered. This article explains the different sides of the debate on funding for private and independent schools. (Contains 2 notes.)