This report identifies and examines current approaches to the provision of second- and third-level services in provincial school systems serving remote areas of Canada, and assesses the applicability of these approaches for First Nations schools. Second-level services are typically provided at the school board or system level and include curriculum adaptation, consultants, legal advice, and program implementation. Third-level services are offered by the provincial ministry and include curriculum development, research, evaluation, policy development, and general goals or standards for education. A literature review examines advantages and disadvantages of small school-community contexts, the central question of equity regarding rural student access to a variety of programs and educational benefits, and trends in administrative organization toward cooperation and sharing. Eleven case studies describe and analyze educational innovations in sparsely populated areas of Canada and the United States. Each case describes clients served; types of educational support services; financing and scope of services; control, decision making, and accountability; adaptations; and outcomes. Five developments were initiated by governments primarily in response to political and economic factors, three came about because of school board action to solve problems and improve services, and three were the result of communities driven by minority cultural aspirations. Organizational arrangements include cooperative services agencies, consortia, multidistrict school boards, interdistrict cooperative agreements, a distance learning center, and (U.S.) regional educational laboratories. In all cases, the emphasis was on decentralization, collaboration, and local control. However, collaborative processes are slower than hierarchical ones; implementation of cooperative arrangements was usually slow and sometimes painful. The last section of the report addresses implications for Aboriginal use of provincial educational services. The goal of self-determination must guide decisions about how services, practices, and policies from non-Native education institutions are screened and adapted to First Nations schools. Appendices contain 86 references, student and parent survey results, and other data collected in the study. (LP)