Dive Brief:

• Following a year of consideration, the Supreme Court of Washington state declared charter schools "unconstitutional." That ruling voided a three-year-old law that addressed funding for charter schools. 
• The funding provision sought to redirect money intended for common schools to charter schools.
• There is a 20-day period during which the Washington State Charter School Association and other interested parties can seek the court's reconsideration.

Dive Insight:

The decision sets up an interesting dynamic, with financial resources at the crux of the matter. The court's chief justice wrote that charter schools are disqualified as common schools because they have an appointed board and any money intended for a common school is "unconstitutionally diverted" to a charter school. In partial dissent another justice wrote that the state can constitutionally support charter schools through its general fund.

Voters approved the establishment of as many as 40 schools over a five-year period and the supreme court rendered them ineligible for public school funds on Friday. On the national level, charter schools, which are relatively new to Washington, continue to come under fire for ruining education. 

The immediate impact is small; the state has only about 1,000 students enrolled in charter schools, but long term the finding could lead to more legal battles.