The state’s largest and most controversial online charter school – the Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow, or ECOT – has sued to block the state from a delayed attendance audit that was supposed to start on Monday.
The lawsuit seeks to block the Department of Education from auditing ECOT based on questions about the process. The audit had been scheduled for February, then put off till mid-June, then set for Monday. Chad Aldis with the pro-school choice group the Fordham Institute says an extensive audit is important.
“I’m less worried about the time and more worried that whatever analysis is done is right, it’s helpful, it’s fair. So I’m willing to wait a little bit of time to make sure the i’s are dotted and the t’s are crossed,” he said.
ECOT claims nearly 15,000 students are enrolled, which would make it larger than all but eight public school districts. ECOT could lose millions if the audit determined that fewer students are attending.
