Washington, D.C. Nina Rees, president and CEO of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, released the following statement in response to Washington State Gov. Jay Inslees statement that he will not call for a special session of the legislature to address the Washington State Supreme Courts recent decision about the states public charter school law:
“We are very disappointed that Governor Inslee has let down thousands of public charter school students, parents, faculty, and supporters.It is imperative that Gov. Inslee and other state officials work with the public charter school community to enact a new charter law as soon as possible.
“The future of thousands of students, many of whom already face significant challenges in their lives, hangs in the balance. We call on Gov. Inslee to meet with these students and their families, hear their stories, and get to work in Olympia on a new charter law that supports their schools.”
About Public Charter SchoolsPublic charter schools are independent, public, and tuition-free schools that are given the freedom to be more innovative while being held accountable for advancing student achievement. Since 2010, manyresearch studieshavefound that students in charter schools do better in school than their traditional school peers. For example, one study by the Center for Research on Education Outcomes at Stanford University found that charter schools do a better job teaching low income students, minority students, and students who are still learning English than traditional schools. Separate studies by the Center on Reinventing Public Education and Mathematica Policy Research have found that charter school students are more likely to graduate from high school, go on to college, stay in college and have higher earnings in early adulthood.
About the National Alliance for Public Charter SchoolsThe National Alliance for Public Charter Schools is the leading national nonprofit organization committed to advancing the public charter school movement. Our mission is to lead public education to unprecedented levels of academic achievement by fostering a strong charter sector. For more information, please visit www.publiccharters.org.
