State’s First Charter School Under Scrutiny from Commission

The statewide charter commission has rejected a corrective action plan from the state's first charter school, which has been struggling since it opened in September.

The commission's executive director told The Seattle Times the plan from First Place Scholars in Seattle was deficient in some areas and not submitted on time.

Joshua Halsey says the next step is a round of negotiations over what changes the commission wants First Place to make or face losing its charter.

The Washington State Charter School Commission has identified more than a dozen potential problems the school must fix. Those problems include not having a qualified special-education teacher for the about two-dozen students who need those services.

The commission is in charge of approving and overseeing most of the state's charter school. It has approved seven other charter schools, with six scheduled to open in fall 2015.