WA charter schools give hope to Black students. Shortchanging them is an injustice | Opinion

You may not know there are charter public schools in Washington. Forty-five states have a charter school system but out of the more than 2,300 public schools in Washington, only 16 are charter public schools.

In Washington, the sector is comprised of public, tuition-free schools that represent real, community-rooted opportunities for local students. That’s why it’s so frustrating that unless action is taken by the Legislature, students attending charter public schools will continue to receive significantly less funding than their peers in traditional public schools.

In Washington, similarities between traditional public schools and charter public schools are what taxpayers should expect. Both are free and open to all; none require an entrance exam. Both employ certified teachers subject to the same state standards. But there are specific differences.

Charter public schools are staffed by nearly three times the percentage of Global Majority (i.e., Black, Brown, Asian, Indigenous and other people of color) teachers than traditional public schools. The percentage of Black students in Washington’s charter public schools is nearly six-times the percentage of Black students in its traditional public schools: charter public schools are regularly a favored choice for Global Majority students. These students receive up to $3,000 less per pupil because state law bars charter public schools from access to local property tax levies.

This is an easy-to-verify disparity. The question is whether the disparity is recognized as injustice. It’s outrageous that in 2023, state lawmakers continue to uphold injustice embedded in our power systems. In public schools, imbalanced policy codifies inequitable funding for charter public schools and the Global Majority students they serve. Is this what civilized society would endorse for Washington’s students? I don’t think so, but it continues.

At the Black Education Strategy Roundtable, we have long opposed any effort by members of historically privileged groups to hoard resources, such as resistance to policy changes that diversify highly capable student programs. We advocate for systemic change in public education that closes opportunity gaps for Black students. Without question, we Washingtonians expect funding equitable for all public school students. It shouldn’t be acceptable for one public school student to receive more resources than another because of where they live or how they look.

Nonetheless, that’s what’s happening today in Washington’s public school system. If a student in your family is attending a charter public school, you still pay the same in taxes, but the state decrees that your student deserves less support. We have actively facilitated injustice, and it is time to stop.

For many students, charter public schools represent a public school option that better supports success. The charter school law allows school-level flexibility to develop curriculum that recognizes the needs of the students that they serve. And, a multi-layered system of oversight that includes a local board of directors, the Washington State Charter School Commission, the State Auditor’s Office and the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction holds charter public schools accountable for results.

The student outcomes speak for themselves. Statewide assessment data captured in Spring 2022 shows that Black, Latinx and low-income charter public school students outperformed their peers in traditional public schools in all tested subject areas. We should be proud and hopeful we’ve found one additional way to help students succeed. It’s not accurate or desirable to claim that one public school approach is better than another. But if a traditional public school hasn’t been a good fit for a student who then thrives in a charter public school, there’s no doubt we must equitably support this additional pathway for opportunity in their lives.

All students deserve a public school education that prepares them for life without limits regardless of their background. Washington’s charter public schools are designed from the bottom up to disrupt cycles of poverty and injustice to expand opportunities for systemically underserved students.

In our country, investment priorities speak louder than just words. And right now the complacency of state lawmakers is saying loud and clear that some public school students deserve less than others.

It’s past time to correct this disgraceful disparity. I call upon state legislators to act on behalf of these students by making an equitable investment in their future.

Steve Smith, a resident of University Place, serves as the Executive Director of Black Education Strategy Roundtable — a coalition of community members, educators and partner organizations advocating equitable outcomes for Black students in Washington.

This story was originally published February 22, 2023 at 7:00 AM with the headline "WA charter schools give hope to Black students. Shortchanging them is an injustice | Opinion."