E.C.S. Puts Final Touches on Report To Set New Course for Calif. Schools

By Lonnie Harp

Despite an election season that analysts say signaled a clear mandate for Republican politics, California officials are pushing ahead with plans to introduce a bipartisan proposal to revamp the nation's largest state school system.

The Education Commission of the States is preparing the final draft of a report that will recommend a strategy intended to win the support of both Republicans and Democrats. The plan will likely be released in January, and Gov. Pete Wilson, a Republican, is expected to follow up by drafting a school-reform bill.

Mr. Wilson recruited the Denver-based E.C.S. to draft a school-reform plan last year. It is the first time the commission has embarked on designing a state's education policy....