While most categorical programs are subject to problems stemming from local, state, and Federal overlap, the problems produced by these parallel structures in bilingual education appear to be dissipating through local capacity-building, increased state legislation for bilingual education, and Federal awareness of its role and support for state and local education agencies' efforts. In reviewing the track record of block grants, the Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations recommended the use of block grants instead of categorical programs "only under certain conditions." Three of these conditions do not seem to apply to most federal support of bilingual education: a high degree of consensus over general purposes among the Congress, the Federal administering agency, and recipients; widely shared program needs both geographically and jurisdictionally; and the broad functional area to be covered existing as a major component of the recipient's traditional range of services and direct funding. Major implications of these conditions for educational policymakers include: Congress and the Administration should encourage a wider dissemination and closer scrutiny of research on previous block grants; a systematic review should be made of present programs to determine which, if any, might logically be combined under a single authorization; and a systematic effort should be made to query the bilingual arena to obtain suggestions for improving intergovernmental relations. (NQA)