To authorize the establishment of charter schools that will improve pupil achievement and provide additional public school choices for students, parents, and teachers. The bill requires the Washington Institute for Public Policy to study the implementation and effectiveness of this act. The institute shall make recommendations to the legislature about the effectiveness of charter schools. The bill declares that no more than 20 charters may be granted annually for the first four years. The bill also covers charter school application processes, funding, and teacher employment requirements.   Official Text and Analysis.

By Todd Ziebarth, Education Commission of the State; Tom Parker, State Board of Education; Steve Mullin, WA Roundtable; Don Shalyey, Aspire Public Schools; Wendy Wiley; Carol Treat, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; Robin Lake, UW; Mike Feinberg, KIPP; Dawn Mason, Parents for Student Soccer; Doug Wheeler, Zion Prep Academy; Donna Foxley, U.S. Dept. of Education; and Yolanda Gill. They testified that charter schools provide public school choice and are important for the innovation necessary to meet student needs. These schools provide greater autonomy and freedom in exchange for higher accountability. A charter school can be closed if it does not meet the performance standards set in the charter. A charter school will improve schools located near it because the other public schools will have to work harder to compete with the charter school in order to maintain the students at their school. Charter schools provide hope, opportunity and access for low-income and minority families.

By Pat Griffith; Dan Steele, WA State School Directors' Assn.; Cris Shardelman; Catherine Ahl, League of Women Voters of WA; John Erickson, WASA, WSPA, Vancouver School Dist.; David Westberg, Jt. Council of Stationary Engineers; Jim Shoemake, and Gil Mendoza, Tacoma Public Schools. They testified that other states may need to create charter schools to provide choices. Washington has choice but it's called vocational skill centers, alternative schools, Running Start, etc. The voters of Washington have voted against charter schools twice. Making schools independent of school boards and laws takes away a citizen's right to elect representatives to oversee the spending of their taxes and to hold them accountable for our schools. In this time of limited resources, now is not the time cut funding for public schools, which will limit current choices, to fund charter schools.

To move the requirement that charter schools must follow the student performance improvement goals from the approval criteria to the section listing the laws that charter schools must follow. The requirement that a charter school's educational program must be "free from religious or sectarian influence" is changed to "free from sectarian control and influence." The start-up grants and assistance account are deleted. The minimum size of a district that is authorized to have a charter school, until 2005, is changed from 1,000 students to 3,000 students. Until 2005, enrollment in charter schools is limited to public school students, unless the student is entering school for the first time. The school employees' retirement system is added to the retirement systems available for charter school employees. Technical amendments also are made.

To delete the emergency clause and add a referendum clause.

To delete the emergency clause.

To require that charter schools must enroll the same proportion of students with disabilities as does the public school district in which the charter school is located.

To delete the limitation on the size of school district that may have a charter school.

To provide that the act will be null and void if specific funding is not provided in the state operating budget.

To make the following changes: allow charter schools to issue secured and unsecured debt; require charter schools to comply with open public meetings laws under RCW 42.17.250; allow 60 days (instead of 20) for a school district board of directors to determine if it will hold a public hearing on a charter application; change reporting requirements for a charter renewal application; allow a school district board of directors to determine the extent to which charter schools will be included in levy planning, budget planning, and funding distribution; change the number of charter schools that may be established from 20 in the first four years to 5 in the first year, 5 in the second year, and 15 in each of the next four years, beginning July 1, 2003; and make other technical changes.

To specify that charter schools must comply with sexual equality laws under RCW 28A.640.

To remove The Evergreen State College from the list of higher education institutions that may sponsor a charter school.

To modify provisions regarding the application process to sponsor a charter school.

To require that charter schools must comply with the rights of parents.

To limit the number of charter schools to 20, including public schools that are converting to charters.

Regarding funding for schools that experience a decrease in enrollment due to a charter school.

To require that charter schools must provide similar health benefits when contracting out services that have previously been performed by classified school employees.

To provide that the bargaining units for charter schools will be separate from other bargaining units in the school district, except for public schools that have converted to charter schools.

Allowing the establishment of charter schools that operate independently of local school boards and certain state laws.

To clarify the legislative intent that charter schools are authorized for the primary purpose of providing the state with more optional tools for school improvement. All charter school applications must first be submitted to a school district sponsor before being submitted to an alternate sponsor. The ESD boards are added as an eligible alternate sponsor, and higher education institutions must act in consultation with an ESD to be eligible as an alternate sponsor. Applications to convert noncharter public schools to charter schools may be submitted only to an ESD board alternative sponsor. Sixty percent of new charter approvals must be for schools serving educationally disadvantaged students or students from low performing schools. A definition for educationally disadvantaged students is created. Charter schools are required to enroll a certain percentage of educationally disadvantaged students and to serve these students and students transferring from low performing schools. Clarification is made that charter schools shall be subject to later enacted laws and that charters must provide for, and may not prohibit, the application of later enacted laws. Provisions are added making charter schools subject to performance audits and making charter school board members subject to financial disclosure requirements. Admissions requirements are clarified to require conversion schools to provide for enrollment of students enrolled prior to conversion. Requirements for the closure of a charter school are added, and a sponsor is prohibited from renewing a charter if certain academic performance standards are not met. The study of charter schools is expanded to include whether and how charter schools have enhanced education reform efforts, and whether noncharter public schools might benefit by a similar regulatory model.

Several amendments were prepared to offer to the full House chamber, but the bill did not receive a vote from the House chamber. The bill was returned to the Senate Rules Committee automatically after the 105-day regular session ended.

For consideration during the first special session.

Authorizing charter schools.

Authorizing charter schools.