Dive Brief:

• In Kentucky, Senate Bill 253, which calls for local school boards to govern new charters, has passed the state's Senate in a 28-9 vote, and will now move on to its House.
• The bill grants school boards the same oversight over charter schools as they have over any public schools in the state and eliminates a proposed Kentucky Public Charter School Commission that would have been appointed by the governor.
• Now, funding formulas will be even between charters and traditional schools, and the new program would begin in the 2017-18 academic year, running through school year 2021-22.

Dive Insight:

Reportedly, the new bill faces a challenge passing the Democrat-controlled state House of Representatives in Kentucky. Charters will still have boards of directors, yet power over accountability will lie with traditional local school boards. States like Utah have also been grappling with issues related to charter funding and accountability, and Utah recently established a Charter School Funding Task Force. That committee, comprised of legislators, State School Board members, and other education leaders, told the Education Interim Committee charters and district schools should follow identical enrollment procedures, since charters were funded on a per-student basis, thus evening out funding in an equitable manner. 

Meanwhile, in Washington, after the state Supreme Court decided one 2010 voter-approved law around charter regulation was unconstitutional, a new bill was recently passed. The new legislation mandates that charters draw from new funding sources, and requires more oversight and regulatory measures for the schools. Charter advocates in the state view the new bill as a victory; the legislation still needs to pass the desk of Washington Gov. Jay Inslee. The state's charter school student population is around 1,000 students.