The political arm of the Washington Education Association, the state's 77,000-strong teachers' union, this week endorsed Judith Billings, the former Superintendent of Public Instruction who's challenging incumbent Terry Bergeson.

Billings, who stepped down after two terms in 1997 to deal with her AIDS infection, jumped into the race late this year. She's opposing the state's controversial WASL test, required for high-school graduation starting in 2008. She's also opposed to charter schools.

The endorsement can't have been completely unexpected. Teachers snubbed Bergeson in July, declining to endorse the two-term incumbent.

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