Moreover, the study says, online charter schools cost the state twice as much per pupil as traditional public schools. It notes that lawmakers still have not adopted standards for online schools the State Board of Education developed in 2003. The group calls the electronic schools “an outrageous taxpayer ripoff.”

The schools’ operators condemn the study as an “incomprehensible … partisan attack.” They claim that failed charter schools operated by nonprofit groups cost the state plenty when they closed. They might explain why their schools should not be closed as well.

To its credit, the Kasich administration says it opposes the House amendments. That is ample reason for the Senate to remove them when it takes up the budget.

But a better approach would be for Governor Kasich and lawmakers to postpone their needlessly large and rapid expansion of charter schools and school vouchers until public-school funding across the state is stabilized.

For the rest of the article, go to Charter charges

Ohio has about two dozen e-schools — essentially online charter schools — most of which are set up by districts for their own students. However, nearly 30,000 students attend the seven statewide e-schools included in the Innovation Ohio study. Five of those had graduation rates of 54 percent or less.

“I think it’s fair to say that Ohio’s e-schools are a disaster,” Innovation Ohio spokesman Dale Butland said Thursday at a news conference. “Why doesn’t Ohio simply shut these schools down?”

For the rest of the article, go to Report rips Ohio’s e-schools for poor performance and graduation rates