Dorn Urges Special Session on Charter Schools, McCleary

Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction sent this bulletin at 09/09/2015 02:43 PM PDT

Having trouble viewing this email? View it as a Web page.

Randy I. Dorn

Dorn Urges Special Session on Charter Schools, McCleary

OLYMPIA — September 9, 2015 — In a ruling Sept. 4, the Washington State Supreme Court declared the initiative that established our state’s charter schools to be unconstitutional.

This ruling potentially affects more than 1,000 students who have already started the 2015-16 school year.

“Even before the initiative was finalized, I warned the drafters it was unconstitutional,” State Superintendent Randy Dorn said. “And after the initiative was passed, I sent a letter to key education leaders in the state legislature expressing my concerns.

“But now that school is in session, we need to do everything we can not to disrupt the education of the students caught in the middle of this argument.”

This is the second time in two months that the state Supreme Court has ruled on the constitutionality of our current education system. Dorn urges the governor to call a solution-oriented special legislative session to fix the charter school law and to address the lingering McCleary contempt order.

More information

Contact

Nathan Olson
OSPI Communications Manager
360-725-6015

Kristen Jaudon
OSPI Communications Specialist
360-725-6032

About OSPI

The Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) is the primary agency charged with overseeing K–12 education in Washington state. Led by State Superintendent Randy Dorn, OSPI works with the state's 295 school districts and nine educational service districts to administer basic education programs and implement education reform on behalf of more than one million public school students.

OSPI provides equal access to all programs and services without discrimination based on sex, race, creed, religion, color, national origin, age, honorably discharged veteran or military status, sexual orientation, gender expression or identity, the presence of any sensory, mental, or physical disability, or the use of a trained dog guide or service animal by a person with a disability.

Questions and complaints of alleged discrimination should be directed to the Equity and Civil Rights Director at 360-725-6162 or P.O. Box 47200, Olympia, WA 98504-7200.