Twenty Days and Counting: Bill to Save WA Charter Schools Moves to House as Session Nears End
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The House Education Committee of Washington State is set to hold a hearing on Friday for a charter school bill that could potentially save the schools of 1,100 students and provide opportunities for more students. More than 60 students, parents, activists, and community members from across Washington are expected to attend the hearing to show their support for the legislation and provide testimony. Maggie Meyers, spokesperson for Act Now for Washington Students, a pro-charter group, stated that they are pleased with the scheduling of the hearing by the House Education Committee. She hopes that the representatives will be responsive and support the bill, just as their counterparts did in the Senate.
After Friday’s hearing, there are only 20 days left in this legislative session to pass the charter bill. Although the bill’s co-sponsor, Sen. Steve Litzow, R-Mercer Island, is optimistic about a House vote on the charter legislation, he is uncertain about its fate in the House Education Committee. Rep. Sharon Tomiko Santos, D-Seattle, chair of the committee, has a history of not supporting charter legislation, according to the Seattle Times. Litzow believes that there is support in the House to advance the bill, but acknowledges that there are some representatives who are working towards finding a compromise and improving the bill.
The Senate has already approved a pro-charter bill with a vote of 27-20 in January. The proposed legislation aims to reinstate the state charter commission to oversee the eight existing schools that were established by a voter referendum in 2012. The referendum also had plans to expand the number of charter schools in the state to 40 over the next five years. However, the state Supreme Court declared charter schools unconstitutional in September, stating that they do not align with the state’s definition of a common school as they lack a locally elected school board. Therefore, they cannot be funded from the same general fund as traditional public schools. The pro-charter bill suggests a change in how charter schools would be financed, this time drawing from the state’s Opportunity Pathways Account which uses lottery revenue, in order to comply with the court’s ruling.
During Senate hearings in January, there was a debate on whether charter legislation should be addressed in the current session, given that other education issues, such as fully funding public education amidst $100,000-per-day contempt fines from the Supreme Court, appeared to be of higher priority. However, the senators passed a bill on Tuesday with a commitment to resolving the funding issue known as McCleary by the end of the 2017 session. This Senate bill is similar to one that was previously passed by the House.
