The Ohio Supreme Court will hear the high-profile argument between Ohio Department of Education and the Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow tomorrow.
ECOT, which was the state’s largest online charter school before it closed, claims the state wrongfully clawed back millions of dollars it was paid to educate students. But the state says ECOT did not verify student participation and a former assistant principal is claiming teachers and students have become the victims of the ECOT fallout.
Laura McNamara says ECOT employees found out they were laid off about 90 minutes before midnight on Jan. 31 that their health insurance would expire in February.
“Decisions were made way outside of ECOT to terminate insurance for these teachers an hour and a half before the next day," McNamara says. She adds that teachers were laid off after working 119 days – one day short of the year’s requirement to qualify toward their retirement.
McNamara says these decisions are not being made by ECOT administrators but by the special master appointed to take over by a Franklin County judge.
