The Republican-controlled State Senate demonstrated how to get things done in a divided government, pushing through bipartisan legislation on Wednesday to keep voter-approved public charter schools open in Washington. The Early Learning and K-12 Education Committee passed Senate Bill 6194, which has 16 co-sponsors, on a 6-to-1 vote.
The bill is necessary to overcome last fall’s State Supreme Court decision that public charter schools are unconstitutional. It does so by funding the schools with money from the state lottery.
A companion bill in the State House, HB 2367, also has co-sponsors from both parties, but it remains to be seen whether House Speaker Frank Chopp will bend to the will of his own members and schedule a vote.
