This article analyses the conflicts between the National Agency for Education and fourteen municipalities in regard the practices for approval of the establishment of independent school in Sweden. Nineteen records from the National Agency for Education were use for text analysis concerning these practices during the period 2002-2003. These records include the pronouncements with regard to these establishments from the municipalities, the National Agnecy for Education, the national courts and the involved independent schools. The analysis of these conflicts exemplifies the redistribution-recognition dilemma present in the concepts of equity, social justice and equivalence. For some actors the opening of independent is an instrument to develop diversity and cultural justice. For others, the growth of indepedent schools can be seen as the gradual disappearance o public shools as a common sphere to all citizens. By closing or reducting common public spaces, there is a risk to have higher segregation and inequality in Sweden. The analysis of the redistribution-recognition dilemma is necessary in order to become aware of how much we are ready to lose of the right to equality in order to obtain an increase of educational diversity.