[JURIST] The Washington Supreme Court ruled [opinion, PDF] Friday that voter-approved initiative 1240 [text, PDF], which allowed 40 charter schools across the state, is unconstitutional. The court determined that the schools cannot receive public funding because the state superintendent has no control over the curriculum or day-to-day activities at the schools. A group of Washington School Administrators and the League of Women voters sued the state over the law in 2013. It remains unclear how this ruling will affect the charter schools, but they plan to continue operating as usual next week.

Education related issues have continued to generate controversy in the US in recent years. In July the US Senate passed a bill [JURIST report] to revamp the controversial 2001 No Child Left Behind Act. The bill comes as part of an effort to overhaul the old law and give more flexibility to states in setting their own standards for student and school performance. In June the US District Court for the District of Columbia ruled [JURIST report] in favor of tight regulations pointed at the for-profit college industry. The court ruled that the Education Department has the right to demand that schools show that their graduates are financially dependent enough to repay their student loans. In January Arizona Governor Doug Ducey signed legislation [JURIST report] that will require all Arizona High School students to take and pass the US Citizenship test before they are able to graduate, beginning in the 2016-17 school year.