Elec. Classroom of Tomorrow v. Ohio Dep't of Educ.

92 N.E.3d 1269, 2017 Ohio 5607
CourtCourt of Appeals of Ohio, Tenth District, Franklin County
DecidedJune 29, 2017
DocketNo. 16AP–863; No. 16AP–871
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 92 N.E.3d 1269 (Elec. Classroom of Tomorrow v. Ohio Dep't of Educ.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Ohio, Tenth District, Franklin County primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Elec. Classroom of Tomorrow v. Ohio Dep't of Educ., 92 N.E.3d 1269, 2017 Ohio 5607 (Ohio Super. Ct. 2017).

Opinion

LUPER SCHUSTER, J.

{¶ 1} Plaintiffs-appellants, Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow ("ECOT"), Jeremy Aker, individually, and as custodial parent of ECOT student CA, and Darrel DeBerry, individually, and as custodial parent of ECOT student JB (collectively "ECOT Families"), appeal from (1) a decision and entry of the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas denying ECOT's and the ECOT Families' motions for preliminary *1273injunction against defendant-appellee, Ohio Department of Education ("ODE"); and (2) the final decision and judgment of the trial court finding ODE is entitled to judgment in its favor as a matter of law. For the following reasons, we affirm.

I. Facts and Procedural History

{¶ 2} ECOT, in operation since 2000, is an online or "e-school" in which students do not attend traditional, brick-and-mortar buildings, but instead attend classes through a computer by logging in to ECOT's online platform to access educational curriculum. Students enrolled in ECOT also have access to other non-computer educational opportunities, including field trips.

{¶ 3} Pursuant to R.C. 3314.01(B), ECOT is considered a "community school," which is "a public school, independent of any school district, and is part of the state's program of education." As a public school, a community school such as ECOT receives funding from the state of Ohio based on the number of full-time equivalent ("FTE") students enrolled in the community school. R.C. 3314.08(C). The community schools self-report the number of FTE students to ODE through the education management information system ("EMIS"). ODE then has the right to "adjust" the payment to the community school "to reflect any enrollment of students in community schools for less than the equivalent of a full school year." R.C. 3314.08(H).

{¶ 4} ODE performs periodic FTE reviews of community schools to investigate whether a funding adjustment is warranted in a given year. Such a review involves ODE personnel visiting the community school and identifying the records ODE would like to view in order to confirm the school's reported FTE numbers for the previous academic year. If, through the review, ODE discovers it owes additional funding to the community school, ODE has 30 days to provide the additional funding. However, if the review results in a finding that the community school cannot substantiate the number of FTE students for which it received funding, ODE can reduce the school's funding amount. The reduction, or "clawback," occurs on a going-forward basis by reducing, over an extended period of time, future state dollars paid to the community school. (Sept. 13, 2016 Tr. Vol. II at 179-80.) A community school that disagrees with ODE's initial determination on funding has a right to an administrative appeal to the State Board of Education. R.C. 3314.08(K)(2). The State Board of Education's decision on the appeal is the agency's final determination on the appropriate funding for the community school for the given academic year. R.C. 3314.08(K)(2)(d).

{¶ 5} ODE has performed FTE reviews of ECOT in 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2011, and, most recently, in 2016. ODE typically conducts reviews of community schools every five years, though it will sometimes conduct a follow-up FTE review the next year if a significant discrepancy appears.

{¶ 6} Following ODE's 2001 FTE review, ODE and ECOT began discussing how to document student attendance and participation for the 2002-2003 FTE review. The parties engaged in negotiations on a funding agreement, and there were several discussions about whether the funding agreement was to apply only to the 2002-2003 academic year or whether it would apply for the 2002-2003 academic year and thereafter. The final funding agreement entered in January 2003 is silent as to duration.

{¶ 7} In the 2015-2016 academic year, ECOT claimed a right to state funding for *1274more than 15,000 FTE students, resulting in more than $100 million in state educational funds. ECOT learned in January 2016 that it would be subject to an FTE review for the 2015-2016 academic year. John Wilhelm, the ODE area coordinator, sent ECOT a letter listing the types of records he would be requesting from ECOT in connection with the review. Wilhelm made clear in the letter that ODE would be requesting durational records showing how long or how often students had accessed learning opportunities over the course of the academic year. In its prior FTE reviews of ECOT, ODE had not requested such so-called "durational data." (Sept. 19, 2016 Tr. Vol. IV at 249, 255.).

{¶ 8} ODE publishes its FTE review manual on its website. In January 2016, ODE published the new 2016 FTE review manual, intending it to be used in connection with its 2016 reviews. This manual contained additional information regarding durational data for e-school FTE reviews beyond what the 2015 FTE review manual contained. ECOT and other e-schools expressed concern to ODE about the appropriateness of using an FTE review manual that had first been published midway through the academic year. Thus, ODE agreed that it would use the 2015 FTE review manual for its 2016 FTE reviews.

{¶ 9} From March 28 to March 30, 2016, ODE conducted its initial FTE review of ECOT, using the files ECOT provided of 750 students that ODE had identified in advance of the preliminary review, including durational data. Each of the 750 student files included a report showing log-on and log-off times for the specified student. Those reports showed that, on average, students spent only about one hour per day logged on to ECOT's online educational platform.

{¶ 10} Disputing the appropriateness of the use of durational data in the FTE review, ECOT asserted the information provided was only a sample printout from its learning management system and was intended merely as an example of the type of form that ECOT might be able to prepare in the future should ODE eventually require durational data as part of its review. Brittny Pierson, the deputy superintendent and chief of staff for ECOT, testified she made it clear to Wilhelm that the durational reports did not present accurate information related to the students' participation and was instead a potential format for future consideration.

{¶ 11} ODE was set to conduct the final 2016 year-end FTE review of ECOT in July 2016, and ODE determined its area coordinators should again review durational data as part of the final review. However, ECOT did not provide durational data to ODE at the year-end review, asserting it did not keep track of this type of data as ODE had never before requested such data.

{¶ 12} On July 8, 2016, three days before the final 2016 FTE review was scheduled to begin, ECOT filed a complaint against ODE seeking specific performance, declaratory and injunctive relief, asking the trial court to block ODE from obtaining and considering durational data during the FTE review. ECOT alleged violations of R.C. 3314.08, of R.C. Chapter 119's rulemaking process, and a breach of the 2002-2003 funding agreement. That same day, ECOT filed a motion for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction against ODE. The trial court denied the temporary restraining order on July 11, 2016. Subsequently, on August 1, 2016, ECOT filed its first amended complaint for specific performance of the funding agreement, asserting a violation of R.C. 3314.08(H)(3), and for declaratory and injunctive relief.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
92 N.E.3d 1269, 2017 Ohio 5607, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/elec-classroom-of-tomorrow-v-ohio-dept-of-educ-ohctapp10frankl-2017.