Washington Blog

The Washington state Senate and House introduced their 2014 supplemental budget proposals this week.

Washington state works on a two-year budget cycle, and because our legislature has already passed a budget for the 2013-2015 biennium, the supplemental budget is an opportunity to make minor changes in funding to support policy implementation.

Both budgets include increases in money for schools – reflecting the reality of the Supreme Court’s McCleary decision which calls for reforms and significant changes in education funding.

Links to all the news coverage (updated 2/25) of Washington's teacher evaluation system, our waiver from No Child Left Behind and the $44 million in flexible federal funds that goes with it.

What's at stake: Preschools, after-school programs, summer programs, and instructional coaching for teachers. Click here to learn more.

Last year, legislators, educators, parents, and community members worked hard to increase funding for public education. But this year, millions of dollars are at risk.

Watch Superintendent Carla Santorno explain the impact of flexible federal funds that Tacoma Schools get as a result of our state waiver from No Child Left Behind.

After months of review, Washington just approved its first public charter schools! 

Washington’s public charter schools were chosen carefully to provide more high-quality options for our most at-risk students, especially children of color and students from low-income families. A high bar was set: of the 22 charter school proposals that were submitted, 8 were approved. 

Here’s the list of public charter schools that were approved. Scroll down for the map.