The commission will be chaired by Sir Robert Balchin, a former chairman of the former GrantMaintainedSchools Foundation, appointed under a Conservative government.
Only two grant-maintained schools were established in Scotland and one, Dornoch Academy in Sutherland, has since returned to the education authority framework.
As an example of New Labour's confusion, it claims to have effectively restored the status of grant-maintained schools by funnelling more money directly to schools from the Treasury.
Two thousand low paid staff in grammar and grantmaintained integrated schools who did not get the original payment will also receive the payment from the department - they will get a double payment.