Opinion

Initiative 1240: This measure would open the door slightly to publicly funded charter schools. If approved, it would authorize up to 40 schools in the state, operated by nonprofit organizations and overseen by a state commission or local school district. Our board...

I was not surprised by the arguments against charter schools following the Seattle Times editorial board's endorsement of Initiative 1240, a proposal to create 40 charter schools over five years. But I was surprised by how little the arguments have evolved over time....

Public school students have different needs requiring different classroom techniques. That critical fact is behind the inspiration that launched public charter schools across America 20 years ago and helps explain the continuing success of many of them. Washington...

Washington state’s education system must change in big ways — and it will, partly by stick and potentially by choice. The stick is the recent state Supreme Court decision in McCleary v. State of Washington, which declared the state has utterly failed in its paramount...

Usually coming late to the dinner table means cold leftovers and the good stuff already is gone. Not the case with charter schools. Being one of the last states in the union to consider a charter school provision means that Initiative 1240 is "the best charter school...

Public charter schools, like religion and politics, should not be discussed in polite company (or at a union hall, a PTA meeting or happy hour for wonky foundation staffers.) Advocates figure to bleed money from a tapped-out system and change the architecture of...

Considering that -- as stated in the state constitution, and as affirmed by the state Supreme Court — basic public education is the state's paramount duty, it is time for the people of Washington to approve the establishment of charter schools. It is time for...