Key Findings
1. In 2012 voters passed Initiative 1240, making Washington the 42nd state to allow charter public schools.
2. In 2016 the legislature confirmed the decision of the voters by passing bipartisan bill Senate Bill 6194, providing authorization for up to 40 new charter schools until 2021.
3. Charter schools are popular, especially in underserved urban communities.
4. Traditional public schools have consistently failed to educate low-income, black, and Hispanic children to the same standard as their white and Asian peers.
5. Charter schools offer families assigned to state-identified failing schools a chance to find a better public school for their children.
6. Washington’s charter schools have delivered on the promise of providing better results for students.
7. House Bill 1195 seeks to further the public interest by retaining charter schools as a popular choice for families within the state’s broader system of education.
Introduction
In 2012 voters passed Initiative 1240, making Washington the 42nd state to allow charter public schools. The election result gave Washington one of the best charter school laws in the country.
In 2016 the legislature confirmed the decision of the voters by passing bi-partisan bill Senate Bill 6194, providing authorization for up to 40 new charter schools until 2021. Though an opponent of charters, Governor Inslee allowed the bill to become law without his signature.
Despite their popularity, state authorization to open new charter public schools has expired. House Bill 1195, introduced by Representative Laurie Dolan (D-Olympia), would extend the authorization to open charter schools in communities that want them to April 2026.
Read the full Legislative Memo here.