ECOT defends log-in policy

The state of Ohio and ECOT (the Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow) have been fighting over whether ECOT should receive $106 million and how to calculate funding.

ECOT has been in the spotlight for not wanting to release its attendance records to the Ohio Department of Education. Neil Clark a spokesman for ECOT said the attendance records in the state of Ohio do not relate to funding.

“What’s interesting is that you have to go all the way back to 2003. There was a contract signed between the state of Ohio Department of Education (ODE) and ECOT. Specifically how they were to do audits and how they would fund. Attendance records in the state of Ohio have nothing to do with funding,” Clark said.

On Aug. 1 2016 Franklin County Common Pleas Judge Jennifer French ordered ECOT to release student login records to the state.

“There was no requirement in the revised code that in order to get your funding, you had to have these log-ins, log-outs. They did not exist prior to [2015]. Even the department is admitting if they hadn’t enforced that rule ECOT would have passed their audit,” Clark said.

Clark said the department decided a student needs five hours of logging in and out but that doesn’t exist in the Ohio Revised Code.

“What the Ohio Revised Code says is that the teachers or an employee has to certify that the student accomplished their 920 hours of educational opportunity. That doesn’t mean you have to be paying attention or processing work while you’re in school. Just because you’re in school doesn’t mean you’re paying attention,” he said.

The state of Ohio and ECOT fight to determine online school funding. #jmcrpp https://t.co/Audd6KAbaA…

— wut (@xstaycold) September 19, 2016