Page 6 - ARUBA TODAY

A6 U.S. NEWS
Thursday 9 augusT 2018

Court: State can base e-school funding on participation data

By KANTELE FRANKO and "There's nothing that informs
JULIE CARR SMYTH an e-school as to the stan-
Associated Press dard that must be met to
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — receive funding, nor, given
Ohio had authority to cal- that the school funding is
culate a giant online char- to 'follow the child,' is there
ter school's funding using any answer from ODE as to
student participation data what happens to the state-
rather than only enroll- mandated funding for an
ment, the state Supreme e-school student who, for
Court ruled Wednesday in example, misses a day of
the latest blow to the now- school because of illness,"
dismantled e-school. he said.
The Electronic Classroom of Democrats who have ar-
Tomorrow, which had been gued for transparency and
among the nation's largest accountability at ECOT for
virtual schools, closed to years immediately jumped
its roughly 12,000 students on the ruling as a victory.
in January but remains of "Senate Democrats have
interest to prosecutors re- been saying for years that
viewing audit findings and ECOT and other public-
politicians raising account- ly funded online charter
ability issues in a midterm schools need to be held
election year. accountable, and the Su-
The Associated Press report- In this May 9, 2017, file photo, Bill Lager, center in cap, co-founder of Ohio's largest online preme Court's decision to-
charter school, the Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow or ECOT, speaks to hundreds of supporters
ed in April allegations by during a rally outside the Statehouse in Columbus, Ohio. day confirms that we were
a former ECOT employee Associated Press right," said state Sen. Joe
that the school intentionally Schiavoni, a Youngstown-
inflated attendance data dent learning time to deter- "We determine that (the best for students and tax- area Democrat.
in order to draw more state mine the school owed the law) is unambiguous and payers alike," said Brittany The state had determined
money, a claim largely vali- state a $60 million refund authorizes ODE to require Halpin, the department's that ECOT should repay
dated in state audit findings from the 2015-16 school an e-school to provide spokeswoman. "We're about $60 million in unsub-
that have been referred to year. But justices sided with data of the duration of a pleased the Ohio Supreme stantiated funding from
criminal investigators. the state in a 4-2 decision student's participation to Court agreed with the de- 2015-16 and $19 million
ECOT had argued in court affirming a lower court's substantiate that school's partment's interpretation more from the following
that Ohio's Department of ruling, concluding the de- funding," Justice Patrick of the law and we remain year. The cash-strapped
Education overstepped its partment acted within its Fischer wrote for the major- committed to ensuring that school shut down after the
authority when it used stu- authority under Ohio law. ity. all community schools re- state started recouping
ECOT attorney Marion Little ceive their correct fund- money, which left students
said the school was disap- ing." scrambling for other op-
pointed but would contin- The high court conclud- tions mid-school-year.
ue to pursue its administra- ed that when lawmakers Noting that many students
tive challenges to the Edu- stated each student could turned to ECOT because
cation Department in lower receive no more than 10 illnesses, disabilities, bully-
courts. hours of credit per school ing or other circumstances
"The two dissenting opin- day, they set up a need for made traditional school
ions extensively detail why documentation of students' environments challeng-
ECOT should have pre- activities. ing for them, some of the
vailed and why ECOT, the "This calculation can be students refused to return
auditor's office, even ODE, made only by referring to to brick-and-mortar public
had always applied an en- records that contain evi- schools and instead en-
rollment methodology," he dence of the duration of rolled at other e-schools or
said. a student's participation tried homeschooling.
The department had ar- in learning opportunities," ODE has said thousands of
gued that ECOT was inter- Fischer wrote. ECOT students switched to
preting state law as though Justices Terrence O'Donnell other schools.
it could receive full public and Sharon Kennedy dis- Some of them expressed
funding for students with- sented, arguing their col- hope of returning to ECOT
out providing documen- leagues were misinterpret- if it could reopen, but the
tation to prove they were ing the 10-hour limit. They lengthy legal battle and
being educated. An at- urged the Legislature to the auctioning of ECOT's
torney representing the clarify the law. Justice Pat equipment and other prop-
department during argu- DeWine, whose father is the erty and sale of its building
ments at the court in Febru- Republican nominee for seem to have sunk those
ary likened the situation to governor, recused himself prospects.
the Internal Revenue Ser- in the case. Ahead of the auction, the
vice accepting a person's Little, ECOT's lawyer, said state auditor took steps to
expenses at face value for Wednesday's ruling leaves preserve data from ECOT's
years and later asking them Ohio's e-schools without administrative comput-
for receipts as documenta- any specific standard or ers in case a criminal case
tion. rule to follow in order to re- arises.q
"Ultimately, this is what's ceive state dollars.