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VIDEO: Washington State Schools Unconstitutional? What You Need to Know (in 150 Seconds)

A school crisis in Washington state has now entered a fourth month.
After a state Supreme Court decision ruled Washington’s charter schools unconstitutional, students and parents have been thrown into limbo land. In 2012, voters across the state approved a law that would allow up to 40 schools in the state to open over five years. But in September, just days into the 2015-2016 school year, the state’s highest court said that because charters are run by an appointed board or nonprofit organization, rather than an elected school board subject to local voter control, they didn’t fit the constitution’s definition of “common school.”



More than 1,000 families are now left wondering whether their child’s school will survive, and how quickly the recently-reconvened state legislature will turn to two separate pieces of legislation that would provide a funding fix for charters.

More from The Seventy Four: See our complete coverage of the Washington charter school decision.

 

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