Bill to save charter schools to become law without Inslee’s signature

Gov. Jay Inslee said on Friday that he had decided not to veto the bi-partisan bill to save charter schools.

Instead, he will allow the deadline for a veto to pass at midnight on Saturday, so the bill will become law without his signature.

Excel Public Charter School has operated in Kent since August. Charter school teachers, parents and students can now move forward without fear that their school will be closed.

In 2012 voters passed a law to allow charter schools. Since last fall, eight charter schools serving more 1,000 school children have been operating in the communities of Seattle, Tacoma, Highline, Kent and Spokane. The bill passed by the legislature allows 32 additional charter schools, including three charter schools already approved by the state, Summit Atlas in West Seattle, Willow Charter in Walla Walla, and Green Dot Charter in Seattle.

Charter schools are popular because they provide access to a quality education to children living in communities that are underserved by traditional public schools, according to a Washington Policy Center media release.

“What matters is making access to a quality public education a reality for every child,” said WPC’s Education Director Liv Finne.

In September, the state Supreme Court ruled charter schools, which were approved by voters in 2012, unconstitutional and ineligible for state funding.

Excel, which opened in opened in August to sixth- and seventh-graders, has been operating as an Alternative Learning Experience though an agreement with Mary Walker School District, north of Spokane, since Dec. 14, when charter schools ceased to exist because of the Supreme Court’s ruling.