Parents and teachers have long shared legal and ethical responsibilities for the children in their care. Most parent-teacher interactions are mutually respectful and focus on this shared concern for the well-being of children and students. Research also regularly shows that teachers believe that parental involvement in their children’s education is an important contributor to student success. Indeed, government policies in many countries have recently encouraged this involvement in more formal ways, such as the establishment of school councils and the expansion of school choice rights for parents. However, when conflicts arise in the parent-teacher relationship, then reference to relevant laws and policies is necessary as a means to govern the process of interaction and resolution of these conflicts. The legal principles underlying these laws and policies are based upon considerations of the legal rights and responsibilities of parents and teachers in education. This paper will begin by setting out two simple philosophical models that describe the rights and duties of key parties in educational decision-making: parents, students, teachers, and the State. Using these models, the paper will provide a description and legal analysis of three typical areas of parent-teacher conflicts: student discipline, curricular choices, and teacher performance. The discussion will focus on the respective civil and educational rights and responsibilities of parents, teachers, and students. It will also examine the underlying legal principles found in international, constitutional, statute, and case law that apply to parent-teacher interactions and draw conclusions with respect to appropriate trends and tensions in education.