Washington Senate passes charter school law fix, 26-23

SEATTLE (AP) — The Washington Senate voted Thursday to approve a fix to the state charter school law that lawmakers hope will pull the alternative public schools out of constitutional trouble.

State lottery money would be used to support charter schools under this proposal, instead of dollars from the general fund.

Tom Franta, CEO of the nonprofit Washington State Charter Schools Association, said he believes the bill addresses all the constitutional questions because it makes clear that charter schools are no longer common schools as the state Constitution labels Washington's more traditional public schools.

Much of the debate centered on whether it was acceptable for the Legislature to find the money to keep eight charter schools open while not fulfilling the promise to the other 1 million school children in the state to fully pay for their schools.

Sen. Rosemary McAuliffe, D-Bothell, said she was concerned that this bill would not take the children who attend charter schools out of legal limbo, because it doesn't answer the court's demand for an elected school board.