A coalition including the League of Women Voters, the Washington Education Association, and El Centro de la Raza, sent a letter to Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson today, requesting that he institute legal proceedings to remedy constitutional violations that arise from I-1240, the charter schools initiative:

Specifically, the Charter School Act improperly diverts public school funds to private non-profits in violation of the Washington Constitution and is otherwise unconstitutional on multiple grounds...

The letter, drafted by attorneys at the Pacifica Law Group, enunciates at least seven areas in which the Charter School Act violates the state constitution. I've yet to read through the cited case law, so I'm not yet in a position to evaluate the strength of these arguments, but on the surface several of them sound fairly compelling. More later, after I've had a chance to read this through.

I've got a request into the AG's office to talk to Ferguson about the prospects of challenging the initiative, but the request certainly puts him in a difficult place. Part of his job as AG is to defend to state law, and the Charter Schools Act is now state law. Considering what's at stake, if there are strong arguments it's hard to imagine that somebody doesn't sue, but it will be curious to see how this ultimately plays out.