Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa reached a landmark deal Wednesday morning with teachers and state legislators over his plan for more mayoral control over the Los Angeles Unified School District.

After three days of intense lobbying in Sacramento, Villaraigosa agreed to change his proposal to cede some mayoral authority over the school district to an appointed school superintendent. He also agreed to give the elected school board a greater role in policy decisions than what he originally proposed.

Both concessions were made to address concerns from legislators that the mayor’s original plan constituted a power grab that would not necessarily improve student performance.

To head off opposition from the powerful California Teachers Association, Villaraigosa agreed to give teachers greater choice over curriculum choices at individual schools and to make teachers “full partners” in decisions affecting schools.

But essential elements of Villaraigosa’s plan remained intact, most notably a Council of Mayors that would be dominated by the mayor of Los Angeles. This Council would have the final say in hiring the school superintendent and would have direct oversight authority over the lowest performing schools. The existing school board would retain some authority over the choice, but exactly how much has yet to be spelled out.

“This legislation is the first step toward replacing the culture of complacency with a culture of accountability at LAUSD,” Villaraigosa said at a Sacramento news conference Wednesday morning.

Villaraigosa has made obtaining more mayoral control over the school district the centerpiece of his administration, saying the school district was not doing a good enough job in educating students. But he has run into stiff opposition from teachers and the school district itself, which maintains it has made great strides in student performance.

The deal was announced the day after a study published in Education Week found that only 44 percent of Los Angeles Unified School District students received a diploma, the sixth-worst graduation rate of any major school district in the nation.

Villaraigosa said that in the next few days legislation incorporating these elements would be introduced in the state Legislature, which needs to change several state laws before any school district governance restructuring can take place.

Los Angeles Unified School District officials said they would hold a press conference of their own on Wednesday afternoon to respond to the deal announcement.