Washington House Passes Bill Aiming to Fix Charter Schools

OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — The Washington House has passed a measure that would change the funding source of the state's charter schools.

An amended version of Senate Bill 6194 was approved by the chamber on a 58-39 vote Wednesday. It now heads back to the Senate for a final vote.

Some lawmakers and advocates of the independent public schools say the measure would ensure the future of the charter system.

The schools have been in limbo since September when the state Supreme Court ruled the charter school system is unconstitutional. The justices had a problem with charter schools getting state money set aside for traditional public schools but not being controlled by a voter-elected school board.

The proposal would use lottery money to pay for the schools but would not give them access to local levy dollars.