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Fedor Calls for Full Investigation of Online Charters
Following ECOT Court Ruling
Local districts should receive reimbursement for paying
“charter fraud tax,” says lawmaker
State Rep. Teresa Fedor (D-Toledo), the highest-ranking
Democratic lawmaker on the House Education Committee,
responded to last week’s ruling by Franklin County Common
Pleas Judge Jenifer French that found that stopping a state
attendance probe into the online charter school ECOT would
be in violation of state policies. A state audit of ECOT
attendance data revealed the online charter could be
defrauding the state and taxpayers by some $60 million
during the last year alone by over reporting enrollment by
143 percent during the same period. Judge French’s ruling
comes as a response to ECOT’s efforts to stop the state from
obtaining additional and accurate attendance data from the
online charter.
“Today’s decision reaffirms what education experts,
Democratic lawmakers, teachers, parents and I have been
saying since the inception of the Republican-led charter
school experiment: We cannot let our most vulnerable
children be robbed of the opportunity for a lifetime of
success just to line the pockets of failing charter school
operators,” said Fedor. “This ruling raises new questions as
to how state leaders have turned a blind eye to online
charter schools cheating our children, taxpayers and
traditional schools since 2003. I believe Judge French’s
ruling confirms that online charter schools should be held
to the same standards and rules as traditional schools to
best protect our children’s and the public’s interest in
guaranteeing high-quality educational opportunities for
children from all backgrounds – especially our most
vulnerable.”
Last year, Fedor and others called for the state to
investigate Ohio Virtual Academy (OHVA), another online
charter, after a whistleblower contacted her office
providing documents that allege OHVA receives more state tax
dollars by padding its rolls with chronically truant
students.
“It is time for state education officials to get serious
about launching a full, statewide investigation of
attendance fraud and data manipulation at all online charter
schools,” Fedor added. “ECOT is merely a wakeup call for
elected officials who have been dragging their feet on
enforcing the rules on charter schools while taking campaign
cash from those same charter operators. All tax dollars that
have been illegally funneled to online charter schools since
2003 should be returned to the local school districts that
paid for what amounts to Ohio’s charter school fraud tax.”
Last year, Fedor and state school board members also called
for an investigation into a top state education official,
David Hansen, after it was discovered he scrubbed failing
grades from many online charters. The deliberate omissions
by Hansen boosted the ratings of charter school sponsors,
potentially qualifying them for additional state benefits.
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