Charter Schools in Washington

Law:  Washington has no charter school law.

Rank:   N/A

CER Grade:   N/A

Schools:   N/A

Students:   N/A

If you'd like to work for a charter school law in Washington, contact us

POLITICS:

UNTIMELY DEMISE: The Washington House failed to pass a charter bill during the final hours of a Special Legislative Session and the bill died. The Seattle Times ascribed this failure as, "Legislators' inattentiveness, coupled with last-minute political jockeying, sealed the fate of charter schools." CER Newswire June 17, 2003. See June 10 Newswire for more details.
NEXT IN LINE: Policymakers today will discuss that state's charter bill and other unfinished business in a special session that began Monday. If all goes well, Washington will be the 41st state to have a charter school law and one that is especially strong. CER Newswire May 13, 2003.
WORK IN PROGRESS: The state of Washington is finally moving forward with a charter school law after many years of failing to pass any legislation related to education reform. Having passed the Senate, the bill will be considered in the House in the next two weeks, and Governor Locke is expected to sign the measure that would allow for five new charter schools over the next two years and up to 70 over the next six. The bill also allows for multiple authorizing authorities through public colleges and universities. Jim and Fawn Spady, who have been fighting this battle through their Educational Excellence Coalition since 1994 are owed major kudos. To find out more information on this group go to: http://www.WAcharterschools.org/. From CER Newswire March 18, 2003.
ELECTION 2002: Charter school activists in Washington are cheering the final results of the election that puts charter-friendly Republicans in charge of the state senate with a one vote margin. For four years in a row, charter legislation that passed in the House was left for dead on the senate education committee's floor because its chair, Rosemary McAuliffe was a union-supported charter school opponent. Now a new chairperson will be elected to head the education committee, making it possible that the state of Washington can now become the 41st state in the nation to have a charter school law. CER Newswire November 26, 2002.
ELECTION 2000: Washington state's initiative for charter schools appears to have failed by a slim margin (less than 42,000 votes), while the state's voters overwhelming passed money measures for teachers and class size. However, there are still as many as 10% of absentee ballots uncounted in the state, which could hold out one last hope for the charter supporters. For six years supporters of charters in Walla Walla land have been trying to bring about this modest reform measure, so victory or not, they are not going away. CER Newswire, November 8, 2000. UPDATE: After the final tally was taken, the Charter School Ballot Initiative was defeated.

SUPPORT ORGANIZATIONS:

Education Excellence Coalition 4426 - 2nd Avenue NE Seattle, WA 98105-6191	Contact: Jim and Fawn Spady Tel: 206-634-0589 Fax: 206-633-3561 Email: wacharters@aol.com
Website: http://www.wacharterschools.org
The Education Excellence Coalition is a Political Action Committee working to enact strong charter school legislation in Washington state.