Washington state's new Charter School Commission has opened the statewide application process for charter schools.
The first step in the process is an Oct. 22 deadline for submitting a letter of intent to apply to open a charter school.
Then potential charter operators have until Nov. 22 to submit their applications. The commission plans to announce its decision on the first applications by Feb. 24.
State law allows up to 40 charters to open over the next five years, or about eight of the new public schools a year.
The Spokane School District also is starting a process to approve charter schools within district boundaries. Other districts that want to become authorizers have until Oct. 1 to tell the State Board of Education they plan to apply next year.