{"id":2351,"date":"2015-09-25T16:39:11","date_gmt":"2015-09-25T23:39:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/spiken.wpengine.com\/news\/state-superintendent-supports-motion-to-reconsider-charter-school-decision\/"},"modified":"2016-10-22T07:35:33","modified_gmt":"2016-10-22T14:35:33","slug":"state-superintendent-supports-motion-to-reconsider-charter-school-decision","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/news\/state-superintendent-supports-motion-to-reconsider-charter-school-decision\/","title":{"rendered":"State superintendent supports motion to reconsider charter school decision"},"content":{"rendered":"

For the Reporter<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Randy<\/span> Dorn,<\/span> state<\/span> superintendent<\/span> of<\/span> public<\/span> schools,<\/span> issued<\/span> a<\/span> statement<\/span> Sept.<\/span> 25<\/span> in<\/span> support<\/span> of<\/span> state<\/span> Attorney<\/span> General<\/span> Bob<\/span> Ferguson\u2019s<\/span> motion<\/span> for<\/span> reconsideration<\/span> asking<\/span> the<\/span> state<\/span> Supreme<\/span> Court<\/span> to<\/span> re-examine<\/span> its<\/span> recent<\/span> ruling<\/span> declaring<\/span> charter<\/span> schools<\/span> unconstitutional.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Excel<\/span> Public<\/span> Charter<\/span> School<\/span> opened<\/span> in<\/span> August<\/span> in<\/span> Kent,<\/span> one<\/span> of<\/span> eight<\/span> charter<\/span> schools<\/span> that<\/span> opened<\/span> this<\/span> year<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> state.<\/span> The<\/span> first<\/span> charter<\/span> school<\/span> opened<\/span> last<\/span> year<\/span> in<\/span> Seattle.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Washington<\/span> voters<\/span> approved<\/span> Initiative<\/span> 1240<\/span> in<\/span> 2012,<\/span> allowing<\/span> the<\/span> creation<\/span> of<\/span> up<\/span> to<\/span> 40<\/span> public<\/span> charter<\/span> schools.<\/span> In<\/span> 2013,<\/span> a<\/span> group<\/span> of<\/span> plaintiffs<\/span> filed<\/span> a<\/span> lawsuit<\/span> challenging<\/span> the<\/span> initiative.<\/span> As<\/span> part<\/span> of<\/span> its<\/span> duty<\/span> to<\/span> uphold<\/span> the<\/span> will<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> people,<\/span> the<\/span> Attorney<\/span> General\u2019s<\/span> office<\/span> defended<\/span> the<\/span> initiative<\/span> in<\/span> court.<\/span> On<\/span> Sept.<\/span> 4,<\/span> the<\/span> state<\/span> Supreme<\/span> Court<\/span> struck<\/span> down<\/span> the<\/span> initiative<\/span> in<\/span> a<\/span> 6-3<\/span> decision.<\/span> The<\/span> attorney<\/span> general<\/span> had<\/span> 20<\/span> days<\/span> to<\/span> file<\/span> a<\/span> motion<\/span> for<\/span> reconsideration,<\/span> asking<\/span> the<\/span> court<\/span> to<\/span> review<\/span> its<\/span> decision<\/span> in<\/span> whole<\/span> or<\/span> in<\/span> part.<\/span> Ferguson<\/span> filed<\/span> the<\/span> motion<\/span> Sept.<\/span> 24.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\u201cAs<\/span> state<\/span> superintendent,<\/span> my<\/span> responsibility<\/span> is<\/span> the<\/span> education<\/span> of<\/span> our<\/span> students,\u201d<\/span> Dorn<\/span> said<\/span> in<\/span> his<\/span> statement.<\/span> \u201cThat<\/span> includes<\/span> charter<\/span> school<\/span> students.<\/span> Whether<\/span> you<\/span> agree<\/span> or<\/span> disagree<\/span> with<\/span> the<\/span> Supreme<\/span> Court\u2019s<\/span> ruling,<\/span> one<\/span> thing<\/span> is<\/span> clear:<\/span> The<\/span> nearly<\/span> 1,300<\/span> students<\/span> now<\/span> attending<\/span> charter<\/span> schools<\/span> must<\/span> be<\/span> protected.<\/span> Their<\/span> education<\/span> is<\/span> as<\/span> important<\/span> as<\/span> the<\/span> other<\/span> 1.07<\/span> million<\/span> public<\/span> school<\/span> students.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s<\/span> why<\/span> I<\/span> strongly<\/span> support<\/span> the<\/span> attorney<\/span> general\u2019s<\/span> call<\/span> to<\/span> push<\/span> back<\/span> the<\/span> timing<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> final<\/span> order<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> League<\/span> of<\/span> Women<\/span> voters<\/span> lawsuit\u2014or<\/span> as<\/span> the<\/span> lawyers<\/span> put<\/span> it,<\/span> \u2018stay<\/span> the<\/span> mandate\u2019<\/span> \u2014until<\/span> the<\/span> end<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> school<\/span> year.<\/span> Interrupting<\/span> the<\/span> charter<\/span> school<\/span> students\u2019<\/span> education<\/span> could<\/span> have<\/span> a<\/span> number<\/span> of<\/span> potentially<\/span> harmful<\/span> effects.<\/span> The<\/span> students<\/span> themselves<\/span> would<\/span> be<\/span> forced<\/span> to<\/span> leave<\/span> their<\/span> schools\u2014and<\/span> teachers,<\/span> mentors<\/span> and<\/span> friends\u2014and<\/span> begin<\/span> school<\/span> in<\/span> an<\/span> entirely<\/span> new<\/span> place.<\/span> That<\/span> could<\/span> hurt<\/span> not<\/span> only<\/span> the<\/span> students\u2019<\/span> education,<\/span> but<\/span> also<\/span> their<\/span> social<\/span> and<\/span> emotional<\/span> health.<\/span> For<\/span> some<\/span> at-risk<\/span> students\u2014such<\/span> as<\/span> those<\/span> who<\/span> are<\/span> homeless<\/span> or<\/span> live<\/span> in<\/span> poverty\u2014the<\/span> transition<\/span> would<\/span> be<\/span> especially<\/span> difficult.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\u201cThe<\/span> stay<\/span> is<\/span> crucial<\/span> for<\/span> a<\/span> second<\/span> reason.<\/span> Transferring<\/span> charter<\/span> school<\/span> students<\/span> into<\/span> public<\/span> schools<\/span> could<\/span> place<\/span> large<\/span> burdens<\/span> on<\/span> the<\/span> public<\/span> schools.<\/span> As<\/span> one<\/span> example,<\/span> Lincoln<\/span> High<\/span> School<\/span> in<\/span> Tacoma<\/span> could<\/span> receive<\/span> an<\/span> additional<\/span> 60<\/span> students<\/span> if<\/span> the<\/span> Summit<\/span> Olympus:<\/span> Tacoma<\/span> charter<\/span> school<\/span> closes.<\/span> That<\/span> requires<\/span> additional<\/span> staff<\/span> for<\/span> Lincoln,<\/span> and<\/span> possibly<\/span> adjustments<\/span> to<\/span> classrooms<\/span> and<\/span> schedules\u2014again,<\/span> all<\/span> during<\/span> the<\/span> school<\/span> year.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\u201cAlso<\/span> important<\/span> is<\/span> the<\/span> motion<\/span> for<\/span> reconsideration.<\/span> The<\/span> court\u2019s<\/span> ruling<\/span> raises<\/span> funding<\/span> and<\/span> governance<\/span> issues.<\/span> Does<\/span> the<\/span> ruling<\/span> affect<\/span> funding<\/span> for<\/span> Running<\/span> Start?<\/span> Does<\/span> it<\/span> affect<\/span> control<\/span> of<\/span> tribal<\/span> schools?<\/span> Gaining<\/span> clarity<\/span> on<\/span> those<\/span> issues<\/span> is<\/span> essential<\/span> if<\/span> our<\/span> public<\/span> school<\/span> system<\/span> is<\/span> to<\/span> function<\/span> efficiently.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\u201cI<\/span> thank<\/span> the<\/span> attorney<\/span> general<\/span> for<\/span> the<\/span> filings.<\/span> The<\/span> courts<\/span> are<\/span> examining<\/span> a<\/span> lot<\/span> of<\/span> complex<\/span> issues.<\/span> I<\/span> want<\/span> to<\/span> make<\/span> sure,<\/span> though,<\/span> that<\/span> grownup<\/span> problems<\/span> don\u2019t<\/span> become<\/span> our<\/span> children\u2019s<\/span> problems.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Randy Dorn, state superintendent of public schools, issued a statement Sept. 25 in support of state Attorney General Bob Ferguson\u2019s motion for reconsideration asking the state Supreme Court to re-examine its recent ruling declaring charter schools unconstitutional.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":106,"featured_media":2352,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"yst_prominent_words":[],"class_list":["post-2351","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2351"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/106"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2351"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2351\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2352"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2351"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2351"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2351"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=2351"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}