Charter School Proposals Pass in Washington, Georgia

Washington will establish first set of schools; Georgia will allow state to override district rejections

Charter school advocates earned two victories in Georgia and Washington Tuesday night, as voters affirmed two ballot questions that supporters pushed.

In Georgia, a constitutional amendment that allows a state entity to authorize charter schools won passage, 59 percent to 41 percent. The amendment is the result of a multi-year fight over whether a state-level body should be able to approve a charter school against the wishes of the local school district. The state legislature had created the Georgia Charter Schools Commission to do that, but the state supreme court ruled the commission unconstitutional in 2011.