A a coalition of parents, educators, school administrators and civic groups in Washington state have filed a lawsuit to challenge to the constitutionality of Washington's new charter-school law.
The Seattle Times reports that the lawsuit says the new law violates the state constitution by sending public funding to charters. Those schools are unaccountable to Washington voters, the coalition argues.
Last year, the Washington Supreme Court ruled that the state's charter school law was unconstitutional because charters do not have elected boards and therefore aren’t “common” schools under the state’s constitution.
In March, Washington lawmakers passed a new bill. It aimed to satisfy the Supreme Court’s objections by having charters funded through lottery proceeds rather than the general fund.
The coalition argues that the new law has the same constitutional flaws that led the Supreme Court to strike down the first law. But charter advocates say they believe the law is constitutional, and characterize as an effort "to preserve a broken status quo and scare our teacher, families and students.”
