Last week in Yakima, in the second round of charter school applications, the Washington State Charter School Commission approved only one new school and rejected three others. Here are the actions Commissioners took:

• Green Dot Public Charter Schools, southeast Seattle, a college-prep high school for 600 low-income students. Approved.
• Bilingual Academy, Clark County, to serve Spanish-speaking children – Denied.
• Sunnyside Academy, Sunnyside, to serve low-income migrant children in the Yakima area - Denied. 
• Village Academy, Pierce County, to serve special needs children - Denied.

The Commission’s rejection of Sunnyside Charter Academy to serve Yakima families is particularly controversial.  Community leaders said the school would serve low-income families and the children of Hispanic migrants and had planned to hire 30 teachers.  Supporters had a strong application, and received an “Approve” recommendation in the Commission’s professional review process.  Reviewers called Sunnyside’s application “cohesive, clear, and compelling.”

Still, Commissioners reversed the early review and apparently gave in to local political considerations.  Sunnyside School District Superintendent Richard Cole had asked the Commission to prevent any Yakima children from attending a charter school.  Some school district administrators oppose letting poor families choose an alternative public school, instead of being assigned to fill seats at traditional schools.  Some Commissioners may be working against charter schools.  Sunnyside’s charter school educators were on track to approval until Commissioner Trish Dziko submitted them to extra scrutiny.  Commissioner Kevin Jacka is on record opposing allowing children to attend charter schools in Washington.

Similar objections were voiced recently by local officials in Tacoma, who complained about losing control over $10 million used to educate children at area charter schools.  Under the law, charter school families are entitled to equal treatment, and must receive the same funding and educational services as students at traditional public schools.  The Commission’s rejections will have a disparate impact on minority communities, especially Hispanic families living in Yakima and Clark County, because they will deny educational opportunities to poor and low-income families.  In addition, the WEA teachers union is pursuing a lawsuit to get all charter schools in Washington closed.

The nine members of the Charter School Commission were appointed to facilitate implementation of the state’s charter school law, approved by voters in 2012 (see RCW 28A.710.070 (1)).  So far, however, the Commission is issuing more rejections than approvals.  Very few groups are surviving the Commission’s rigid regulatory process.  In the second round, 12 community-based groups expressed interest, but just four made it to the final process, and only one was approved.  Most Commission members were appointed by Speaker of the House Frank Chopp and Governor Jay Inslee, who had opposed passage of the charter school law. 

The charter school law allows eight new schools to open each year, for a total of 40 over five years.  Unused approvals can be rolled over to subsequent years.  Separately, the Spokane School District on September 24th approved its second charter school, Spokane International Academy, a K-8 school.  Overall, only two new charter schools have been approved in the second round, out of eight open positions. 

This report is part of WPC’s Initiative 1240 Charter School Follow-up Project