What was the state鈥檚 largest online charter school can鈥檛 challenge an order to pay back $60 million in overpayments for inflated student enrollment numbers.
That鈥檚 the decision from the Ohio Supreme Court, which ruled the Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow must pay that bill. The state had been taking millions back from each monthly payment, but that stopped when ECOT closed in 2018.
The school has been fighting against repaying $60 million in overpayments based on students who were enrolled but weren鈥檛 participating in an order labeled final by the state board of education. The Ohio Supreme Court ruled that year against ECOT, saying the state could base funding on student participation, not on the number of students who were enrolled.
The court on whether 鈥渇inal鈥� means the board鈥檚 decision could be appealed to a court. Erik Clark represented the Ohio Department of Education, and said the law was clear.
鈥淭he General Assembly could have said 鈥榝inal and appealable,鈥� as it has on other occasions, and it did not do that," Clark argued.
Four justices agreed, led by Republican Justice Pat DeWine.
But Justice Sharon Kennedy and two of the court鈥檚 three Democrats wrote that 鈥渇inal鈥� meant no further action could be taken by the board, but that there could be an appeal in the Franklin County Common Pleas Court. The third Democrat, Jennifer Brunner, didn鈥檛 hear the case.
