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Justices To Hear Arguments Over Giant E-School’s Attendance
By: Associated Press
Posted on:
Update 3:00 p.m.
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – Justices of the Ohio Supreme Court are weighing arguments in a hot-button case over how Ohio calculated funding for the state’s largest online charter school
Justices grilled both sides’ attorneys for nearly an hour today.
An attorney for the now-closed Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow argued the Ohio Department of Education overstepped its authority when it decided to use learning time, rather than enrollment, for its calculation.
As ECOT supporters demonstrated outside, Marion Little told justices the state misled and lied to the school.
Under the revised formula the state says ECOT inflated its attendance and owed a $60 million refund.
State attorney Douglas Cole said the school’s interpretation of state law results in an “absurd” outcome where it can collect full payment for students without documenting a single minute’s learning.
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – The Ohio Supreme Court is ready to hear arguments in a legal dispute over how state education officials calculated enrollment at the state’s largest online charter school.
The Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow will argue Tuesday that the Ohio Department of Education overstepped its authority when it changed the way it tallied enrollment to account for learning time.
The state will counter that it was following Ohio laws that said e-school funding should be based on participation, not just enrollment.
The revised formula showed ECOT had inflated its attendance and owed the state a $60 million refund.
The school’s survival and the future of online K-12 education could be affected by the court’s decision.
Supporters and former students of the now-closed school were organizing a protest to accompany the arguments.