Calif. Plan Shifts State Duties to Private-School Group

By Millicent Lawton

Private-school advocates in California would assume the duties of the state education department's defunct private-school office, under a plan scheduled to be considered by the state board of education next week.

The innovative proposal, which has received the approval of a key advisory committee and the backing of education department officials, would enable the deficit-plagued state to improve services to private schools without spending its own money.

Moreover, its supporters say, the plan would also improve California's compliance with the regulations of Chapter 2 of the Hawkins-Stafford Elementary and Secondary Education Amendments, which call for "equitable participation'' by private schools...