Starting off &om the verification that tbe principie of freedom of education is sanctioned botb in many CODStitutions and in an . equa1ly large number of agreements between difierent States and tbe Holy See, tbe main questionlies with an attempt to establish valid criteria in order to correctly interpret tbe juridica1 discipline in vigor in this matter, in tbose States where such a duplicity of sources is to be found. If we bear in mind that the stipulations agreed upon cannot have tbeir origin in an intent of assuring Catholic institutions tbeir rightfuI claim to complete freedom of action in tbe fie1d of education, whereas CODStitutional norms can, on the contrary, stem &om a secu1arist inspiration, problems of interpretatidn are placed in tbe forefront which are capable of deriving &om tbe distinct order in which the two sources have followed one another chronologically, and from the difference in ideological inspiration which may characterlze them. Given tbe objective difficulty of carrying out · an ample study of Comparative Law on the subject which limits itse1f to a summary examination of tbe problem as it applies to the Italian case, a comparison is made witb two other juridica1 systems -tbose ofthe Dominican Republic and of Colombia- which happen to be difierent as to the dates of tbe sources, tbeir chronological order ofsuccession and their ideologica1 background. By so doing, some opportune conc1usions are reached.