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COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The Latest on a whistleblower's claims of data manipulation by the Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow (all times local):
2 p.m.
A spokesman for Republican Auditor Dave Yost says state auditors also have interviewed a whistleblower who claims a now-shuttered online charter school misused software to calculate student hours.
Yost spokesman Ben Marrison said he didn't know if the individual was the same former employee of the Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow interviewed by the Ohio Department of Education.
An attorney for ECOT says he was unaware of the claims.
Marrison said the whistleblower's information was considered for a 2016-2017 financial audit of the school that's not yet been released. He couldn't immediately provide a date when auditors met with the man.
He said he wasn't aware of any communication from the Education Department about the whistleblower's August email.
State education regulators are reviewing the whistleblower's claims that ECOT used software installed in 2016 to intentionally inflate attendance figures.
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11:30 a.m.
A Democratic Ohio governor candidate is calling for a criminal investigation into a whistleblower's claims that a now-shuttered online charter school used software to inflate attendance figures.
Sen. Joe Schiavoni (shuh-VOHN'-ee) and running mate Stephanie Dodd, a member of Ohio's state school board, responded to allegations of an ex-employee of the Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow reported by The Associated Press Monday.
Schiavoni says taxpayers deserve an investigation into allegations that ECOT took "unearned money." A former staffer spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity due to fear of repercussions.
Dodd says she has communicated with him and was "seeking answers" on why the Ohio Department of Education hadn't conveyed his claims to the board or authorities.
An attorney for ECOT says he was unaware of the claims.
-By Julie Carr Smyth
11 a.m.
A critic of a shuttered Ohio online charter schools says a whistleblower's claims represent the strongest evidence to date of misconduct.
Sandy Theis (tys) is the former executive director of the liberal think tank ProgressOhio. She was responding to an Associated Press report Monday that state education regulators are reviewing a whistleblower's claims that Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow used software to inflate attendance figures.
The former technology worker said he was in meetings where ECOT officials ordered staff to manipulate student data to reach desired outcomes. He spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity due to fear of repercussions for speaking out.
Theis called it "a scheme" to steal money and says those responsible should be investigated and prosecuted.
An attorney for ECOT's board said he was unaware of the man's claims.
-By Julie Carr Smyth
10:27 a.m.
Education regulators are reviewing a whistleblower's claims that Ohio's then-largest online charter school used new software that it installed in 2016 to intentionally inflate attendance figures.
The individual who brought the Ohio Department of Education the information is a former employee of the now-shuttered Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow. He spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity for fear of professional repercussions for speaking out.
The school's former lobbyist dismissed the whistleblower's allegations. An attorney for the school's board said he was unaware of the man's claims. The school closed abruptly in January.
A state spokeswoman says it also challenged ECOT after finding it duplicated learning hours.
After requiring the school to start tracking student learning hours, the Education Department found it over-reported its attendance in the 2015-2016 and 2016-2017 school years.
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