Another perspective on I-1240 . . .

I just came across this article on the Everett Herald Net that ran on September 6th.  In it, State Superintendent Dorn shares his thinking on the charter school initiative being unconstitutional.  He questions the constitutionality of the initiative because it would establish the Washington State Charter School Commission to approve establishment of the schools and it would also be run out of the Governor's office and not OSPI.

Such a bypass runs counter to Washington's constitution which says the superintendent of public instruction "shall have supervision over all matters pertaining to public schools."

"I believe the initiative is flawed because it goes around the constitution," he said. "I do not believe the superintendent of public instruction would have a role in the constituting of a charter school or decommissioning of a charter school."

 Attorney General McKenna sees it differently.

"I don't see any constitutional problem at all," he said this week. "It clearly is (constitutional) because the schools are public charter schools. They're organized a little differently and operate under a charter instead of a school district but they are public schools."

I expect that we will soon begin seeing this battle play out in the media.  It will be interesting to watch and considering Superintendent Dorn's position will a law suit be the natural conclusion to passage of the initiative?