Washington high court to hear charter school case

The Washington Supreme Court has agreed to consider whether the state's voter-approved charter school law violates the state constitution. Oral arguments concerning the lawsuit brought by charter school opponents have been scheduled for the afternoon of Oct. 28. A King County Superior Court judge found in December that parts of the new law are unconstitutional. Judge Jean Rietschel's decision focused on whether certain taxpayer dollars can be used to pay for the operation of charter schools. Both sides asked the Supreme Court to skip the appeals court process and directly review the case. Attorney Paul Lawrence says the briefs to the court and the oral arguments will focus on that part of the lawsuit. The state's charter school system was approved by voters in 2012.