ECOT Fights To Halt Further Action By Education Department In Attendance Fight

by Andy Chow

The state of Ohio and its largest e-school went head-to-head in court Monday over what’s required to provide education to students. 

ECOT wants a judge to halt any consequences stemming from a recent attendance audit by the Ohio Department of Education while the two sides fight over the bigger issue of what constitutes student instruction and learning opportunities.

ODE has completed what’s known as an FTE review, which measures how much instruction students received during the school year.

State officials said there was no hourly, daily or weekly record of how much time students spent learning.

The FTE result means the state could clawback a big portion of ECOT’s $108 million in funding.

The court hearing is expected to last for as long as a week.