![]() ![]() “I think people are looking for negative. “I don’t think there was any bad intentions.I get so offended when I hear people say the founders are only in it for the money because they aren’t.Ĭole can’t speak for all Epic parents, but her sentiments toward the investigation and the media are echoed by many of the parents who are active on the Facebook page.Ĭole also believes media coverage of Epic Charter Schools has been “slanted.” “I clearly have not been a witness to any of the things I’ve seen them accused of,” Cole said. She also moderates the largest Epic Charter Schools parent Facebook group. Her son recently graduated from Epic, and she has a daughter enrolled at the virtual school. But What Do Parents Think?Įpic Charter Schools has released many statements saying they are confident they will come out of these investigations clean, and Epic remains very popular among parents.Īmanda Cole lives in Norman, Oklahoma. In other words, the education department doesn’t have the data to weed out students that are dually or falsely enrolled in homeschool or private school as well as a virtual charter school. “So, if indeed what is being alleged and investigated is true, there isn’t a mechanism to be able to cross check-information and certify that what they report is accurate.” of Public Instruction Joy Hofmeister in July. “We do not have at the state level a list of homeschool students or private school students,” said Supt. Private or homeschooled students, however, are not required to register with the state government, so they would not show up in routine audits designed to detect dual enrollment. To do this, a unique number is assigned to each public school student to track their enrollment from year to year. ![]() Virtual charter schools are mostly regulated by a separate agency, the Statewide Virtual Charter School Board, but verifying enrollment falls to the State Dept. Public records obtained by Jennifer Palmer at Oklahoma Watch and Andrea Eger at the Tulsa World indicate that Epic is also being investigated by federal authorities for similar issues. The second warrant shows the scope of OSBI’s investigation has widened to include the school’s chief financial officer and some current and former board members. The warrant also says parents were incentivized by Epic’s Learning Fund, from which parents would receive between $800 and $1,000 per child to be used for extracurricular activities of their choice. Rather than participating in the publicly-funded virtual charter school, the investigator wrote the “ghost students” continued with traditional homeschooling and private education, receiving “little to no instruction from Epic.” Teachers allegedly received bonuses for keeping “ghost students” enrolled. In the first warrant, OSBI’s investigator alleged that Epic’s founders, Ben Harris and David Chaney, illegally pocketed $10 million over five years by enrolling so-called “ghost students.” These are private school and home school students who were ostensibly recruited so Epic could receive the per-pupil funding each public school receives. Two recent search warrants filed in Oklahoma County show the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation believes Epic Charter Schools and its management company were set up with the intention of profiting from state tax dollars. With multiple ongoing investigations into the school’s finances and enrollment, here is a comprehensive look at what has transpired and what it could mean for future state policy. ![]() ![]() From TV and radio ads to advertisements on and radio to the steady flow of news stories, it has been difficult to ignore Epic Charter Schools lately. ![]()
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