HB 1744 has been introduced in the legislative session. It will be heard this Thursday by the House Education Committee at 8:00 am. While sponsors may deny it, a fair reading of this bill shows it is an effort to repeal Washington’s popular charter school law.

According to my analysis of the bill, here are the following problems.

HB 1744 claims to bring “accountability” and “oversight” to Washington’s public charter schools. It creates the impression that charter schools lack oversight. This is simply not true.

The charter school law is full of accountability measures. For example, it requires charter school authorizers (the Washington State Charter School Commission and Spokane Public Schools) to “continually monitor” the “performance and legal compliance of the charter schools under its jurisdiction, including collecting and analyzing data to support ongoing evaluation according to the performance framework in the charter contract.” RCW 28A.710.180. If a charter school fails to meet the objective learning standards described by the school’s performance framework, these oversight agencies can close the school. RCW 28A.710.170. 

HB 1744 is an attack on the independence of charter schools. Charter schools are governed by independent boards made up of leaders in local communities who volunteer their time and expertise to governing boards of charter schools. These boards make important leadership and policy decisions governing the running of charter schools. The independence of these boards is what a charter school is.   

Here is the hostile language of HB 1744 (in Sections, 4, 5 and 9):   

            “The Washington state charter school commission shall….

Ensure that students in charter schools authorized under this chapter have opportunities for academic success that are not disrupted by unsatisfactory educational, operational, or financial oversight of the charter school, the charter school board, or both.”  (Emphasis mine.)  

This language would cancel the independence of charter schools by requiring the state to take over control of their boards. 

Over sixty percent of students in Washington’s public charter schools are low-income black, Hispanic, and immigrant children. Their parents are grateful to have a charter school option for their children.

Parents love their charter schools because these schools listen to parents. Charter school funding depends upon keeping families satisfied, so these schools are responsive to parents and the learning needs of their children. Charter schools are so popular with families that many of these schools must maintain waitlists of children seeking admission.  Attendance at Washington’s charter school soared during COVID because many reopened months before traditional schools resumed in-person learning.

HB 1744 would take away the independence of Washington's public charter schools, so they would no longer be charter schools. I’ll be carefully monitoring the hearing on this bill.