Dive Brief:

• The Seattle School Board decided to forgo the opportunity to authorize charter schools within its district, saying the responsibility would be too much and that it should therefore continue to be the state's decision.
• While the board initially considered taking on the role of authorizer, members pointed to the fact that even if they denied a charter application, the state's charter commission could still grant approval — in other words, they would have a lot of work but not necessarily too much final say in the matter.
• There is currently only one charter school operating in the state of Washington — when voters decided in 2012 to allow the schools into the state, the board was open about its opposition.

Dive Insight:

It's not unusual for a district to lack final say in a charter school's ability to open. In San Francisco, for example, charter schools have turned to the school district's board to ask permission to rent space from traditional public schools (a trend due to soaring prices in the city). If SFUSD denies the right to rent, the charter school can resubmit its application to the state's board of education, and if the state says yes, the district is out of luck and must provide space to the charter school. This system seems to give a false sense of authority to traditional school districts, which can easily be shot down by the state if they make a decision that does not align with the larger agenda.