This article presents the notion of permeability as an analytical category for examining the privatization dynamics in current initiatives in early childhood, primary and secondary education. The concept of permeability refers here to the nature of relational patterns shaped in the implementation of educational policies. Therefore, the article examines two concomitant movements: on the one hand, public authorities’ initiatives to assimilate and adapt knowledge developed in the private sector; on the other hand, the transfer of public services to private institutions. It also systematizes literature inputs which contribute to the understanding of the wide range of regulatory regimes. Initiatives that illustrate changes in the forms of management and provision of early childhood, primary and secondary education are discussed in light of these contributions.