Advocates of educational reform are not usually known for their fancy gold chains or expensive rattlesnake and elephant hide cowboy boots. That suits Patrick Taylor, 53, just fine; he likes to stand out, even in a high-minded crowd. For the past 18 months, the publicity-loving, strikinglygarbed Louisiana oilman has been cutting a swath across the U.S., lobbying state legislatures to adopt a plan that would guarantee qualified and needy students a tuition-free education. Taylor calls his scheme a kid's bill of rights and declaims, "We must ensure that high school does not become just a dead end."
In 1989 the Taylor...
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