By Heidi Sanders

Reporter

Two bills have been proposed in the Washington State Senate that would amend state law to allow charter schools, including Excel Public Charter in Kent, to continue to operate.

In September, the state Supreme Court ruled charter schools, which were approved by voters in 2012, unconstitutional and ineligible for state funding. On Nov. 19, the court denied motions by state Attorney General Bob Ferguson and the Washington State Charter Schools Association to reconsider the ruling.

State Sens. Andy Billig, D-Spokane, and Michael Baumgartner, R-Spokane, are co-sponsoring a bill that would put charters schools under the authority of local school districts instead of being governed solely by an appointed school board.

A second proposal, introduced by Sens. Steve Litzow, R-Mercer Island; Joe Fain, R-Auburn; Mark Mullet, D-Issaquah and Steve Hobbs, D-Lake Stevens, would direct charter school funding to come from the state’s Opportunity Pathways Account, which contains state lottery revenues not restricted to common schools.

Adel Sefrioui, Excel’s executive director and founder, said he is pleased to see two bipartisan bills addressing the situation.

“People care about this and want to fix this issue,” he said.

Excel opened in August serving sixth- and seventh-grade students with hopes of expanding to grades 6-12.

Sefrioui, and Act Now for Washington Students, a parent-led coalition working to keep charters schools open, favor the second proposal.

Sefrioui said that bill is more in line with what was approved by voters in 2012 and calls for the restoration of the Washington State Charter Schools Association, which can authorize the creation of charter schools.

Billig and Baumgartner’s proposal could limit accessibility to charter schools to districts agree to be charter authorizers, Sefrioui said.

“Only one district wants to be a district authorizer,” he said. “That was Spokane.”

Despite the uncertainty facing charter schools over the past couple of months, education at Excel has remained unhindered.

“Everything is operating in the same way from day one,” Sefrioui said. “The same staff, the same students, the same family members, the same education program.”

Since Dec. 14, when charter schools ceased to exist because of the Supreme Court’s ruling, Excel, along with several other charter schools across the state, has been operating as an Alternative Learning Experience though an agreement with Mary Walker School District in Springdale north of Spokane.

This is a temporary arrangement to allow charter schools to continue to serve student until a permanent solution is reached, Sefrioui said.

He said he is confident Excel will be open next school year.

“We have every indication that we are going to be open next year as a charter school or ALE,” he said. “That is still in the air until we hear back from Olympia this session. This is a powerful school. There is community support, and we are going to continue operation no matter what.”