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ECOT Loses Another Court Battle

ECOT - Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow
Dan Konik
ECOT - Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow

What was the state’s largest online charter school has lost another round in court. 

The Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow had asked the Ohio Supreme Court to take up an appeal on a claim that the state Board of Education violated open meetings laws when it decided to claw back millions of dollars from the now defunct e-school. But the justices say they won’t take up the case. That leaves standing a lower court ruling that upheld the board’s vote because it was acting in a quasi-judicial function. This latest decision by the high court follows one earlier this month when it rejected ECOT’s argument that it was improper to base the school’s funding formula on actual student attendance rather than enrollment figures alone. That ruling left the founder of ECOT, Bill Lager, on the hook to pay back $60 million that the state says is owed in overpayments.

Copyright 2018 The Statehouse News Bureau

Jo Ingles is a professional journalist who covers politics and Ohio government for the Ohio Public Radio and Television for the Ohio Public Radio and Television Statehouse News Bureau. She reports on issues of importance to Ohioans including education, legislation, politics, and life and death issues such as capital punishment.