Dear Friends,
Yesterday, we reached a major milestone in our fight to ensure that charter public schools continue to serve Washington families. I’m excited to announce that a diverse group of organizations, along with current and former legislators and state officials, are joining the fight for Washington’s charter public schools as part of the ongoing lawsuit, El Centro de la Raza v. Washington.
Former State Supreme Court Justice Phil Talmadge, several national education organizations including the Black Alliance for Educational Options, and numerous legislators from both sides of the aisle have all stepped forward to file amici curiae, or “friends of the court” briefs in support of the parents and students in our lawsuit.
This is just the latest in a series of wins for families in Washington state. Learn more about the legal fight, here.
Our coalition of support is steadily growing and diversifying, and it’s no mystery why: The National Association of Charter School Authorizers recently awarded Washington’s new charter public school law a perfect score based on best-practice criteria that helps ensure a consistent, high-performing charter sector. That award followed a Department of Education grant of $6.9M to Washington state charter schools, a signal of confidence in our state’s growing charter sector. These are exciting times at WA Charters.
With that, I’d like to wish you a happy holiday, and hope each of you are able to enjoy time with your family and loved ones.
The fight for high-quality public schools continues in 2017.
Best,
Tom Franta | CEO | WA Charters