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Act Now for Washington Students Responds to Pre-Filing of Senate Bill 6163

For Immediate Release | January 6, 2016

Coalition Underscores Urgency to Fix the Mess, Commends Legislature for Commitment to Act

In response to yesterday’s pre-filing of proposed charter school legislation by Spokane Senators Andy Billig and Michael Baumgartner, Act Now for Washington Students released the following statement:

“We commend Senators Billig and Baumgartner for their efforts to keep public charter schools open, and for recognizing the urgent need to fix the mess that threatens public charters schools and has left Washington communities in limbo. The imperative to keep these local public schools open is quickly becoming one of the most critical issues legislators will face this session – and we expect several other legislative proposals to be brought forward.

While this first proposal is a good starting point and should be lauded for its responsiveness to the urgency of the situation Washington families face, ultimately the goal is to enact legislation that reflects the spirit of the public charter school law passed by Washington voters – which includes a statewide public charter school authorizer. We look forward to working with legislators to come together on a solution that maintains the ability of all parents—not just those in some districts—to choose the public school that best fits the needs of their children.”

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