This study explores the degree to which the delivery of elementary and secondary instruction through the use of telecommunications is constrained by federal and state law, and examines the nature of the constraints and their implications for the present and future use of telecommunications-based delivery instruction to students within the age of compulsory education. The state and federal roles in the control and financing of elementary and secondary education are outlined, and state regulation of precollegiate education is discussed with particular regard to regulation of finance, institutional approval, and the concept of attendance. Issues are identified which concern the potential conflict between state control of education and federal preemption of most aspects of telecommunication. The effects of regulatory constraints on the uses of telecommunications-based instruction on the provision of postsecondary education are also discussed as an indication of what may be faced by the primary and secondary education sector. Conclusions and six tables are included. (LMM)