According to the Bureau of Census, almost 13 million Mexican-Americans live in the United States. Since parental involvement is important to the success of Mexican-American children in school, an analysis of the role of trust in such involvement is presented in this paper. It reports the findings of a study that explored the issue of trust as it relates to parents and their involvement in their children's education, and it provides a theoretical conceptualization of trust. Three themes emerged that relate to trust and parental involvement: parents who defer rather than trust, parents who trust too much, and parents who distrust. The findings indicate that the existence or absence of trust between the home and the school affects the development and sustenance of meaningful parental involvement. It is suggested that trust is one area in which school personnel and policy makers must focus their attention and efforts; schools must examine and eliminate the barriers that have been erected, while creating opportunities for culturally and racially different parents to become meaningfully involved in their children's education. Some suggestions for building trust and avoiding distrust are offered. (Contains 20 references.) (RJM)