OLYMPIA — Today the Supreme Court ruled that the state of Washington is not fulfilling its constitutional duty to fully pay for basic education and said it would monitor the Legislature’s implementation of the decision.

Education Chair Sen. Rosemary McAuliffe and leadership members Sen. Lisa Brown and Sen. Ed Murray issued the following statements:

“The Supreme Court has affirmed what we already knew, that we must reform basic education and pay for it,” said McAuliffe. “Through HB 2261 and HB 2776 the Legislature recognized society is demanding more from our students, so we created an enhanced program of basic education to provide them with the opportunities they need to succeed. However, we can’t reach this goal alone. We now need the public’s support of new revenue to achieve full implementation of these reforms.”

“We appear to have widespread consensus on what we need to do — fund schools amply, fairly and transparently so they can meet the education needs of our state’s children,” said Brown. “Differences arise surrounding how we get there, how we allocate and how we raise the necessary revenues. The Supreme Court’s opinion supports the need for a serious conversation about advancing our kids’ education through more revenue. It must start this session.”

“A good education is vital for every Washington child. Yet, we can’t achieve an enhanced education for our children if we at the same time eliminate other essential social services,” said Murray. “Children who are hungry or sick and don’t have access to food or healthcare can’t focus on learning at school. We need a comprehensive approach for our future.”

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For More information: Alison Dempsey-Hall, Senate Democratic Communications, 360.786.7887