This report reviews the pioneering efforts in California, Florida, and South Carolina to foster citizen participation through school councils and provides data and analysis on one promising policy innovation in each of the states. The experience in the three states suggests that institutional mechanisms are in place, precedents have been set, and a consensus is emerging for the evolution of school councils as vehicles for "coproduction" whereby parents act as partners rather than as advisors to or watchdogs of schools. Coproduction as envisioned in the report requires (1) an organized, institutionalized procedure; (2) a focus on the core of the school's program--instruction, especially in the basic skills; (3) collaborative planning by producers and a consensus on instructional goals based on formal discussion and negotiation; (4) a division of labor and clear assignment of responsibilities among various coproducers; and (5) the sharing of both authority and blame. The report concludes that the characteristics of schools as organizations set a limit on what policy objectives can be accomplished by mandating councils. (Author/MLF)