State Supreme Court Ruling Derails School Choice in Washington

On September 4, the State Supreme Court derailed Washington’s nascent charter school movement when it ruled that charter school Initiative 1240 is unconstitutional.

Approved by voters in 2012, I-1240 allowed up to 40 charter schools at a rate of eight per year. The initiative specified that low-income, at-risk students be given priority and charter schools were required to meet the same rigorous certification, performance and teacher accreditation standards as traditional schools.

Nevertheless, the state teachers’ union sued to overturn the initiative and in a 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court a...