K12 Inc. Virtual Charter Schools sued for "deceptive recruiting" and passing students with poor or nonexistent performance."

Scott Walker wants to expand virtual and vouchers schools, both parallel educational systems that under perform and undermine public schools. This shocking lawsuit against the biggest virtual school, K12, exposes what I've been saying all along; for profit schools are after the money and will destroy public education. From eSchool News (subscription):

After a recent New York Times article implied that online learning giant K12 Inc. focuses more on its bottom line than student performance, the company now faces a class action lawsuit alleging that it violated securities laws by issuing false and misleading statements regarding its business prospects. The Times published numerous improper practices at K12’s virtual charter schools. After the article appeared, the price of K12 stock plunged.

The lawsuit, aimed at the country’s largest operator of full-time public virtual schools, alleges that:
• K12 engaged in improper and deceptive recruiting and sales strategies, aimed at enrolling students regardless of their ability to successfully complete the curriculum;

• K12 failed to disclose administrative pressure from upper management to pass students, despite poor or nonexistent academic performance, so as to maintain high enrollment levels and continued government funding; and

• According to various academic benchmarks, K12 students chronically underperformed their peers at traditional schools.

The complaint alleges that, as a result of these actions, K12’s statements regarding its academic performance, financial performance, and business and financial prospects were “materially false and misleading.”

“K12 disputes the allegations and intends to vigorously defend itself,” said Jeff Kwitowski, vice president of public affairs for K12, in an interview with eSchool News. The Times article does make the same allegations, quoting numbers and anonymous teacher and administrative sources from K12 schools.

Key among these allegations is that, although Packard stated that the test results from one of its largest online schools, Agora Cyber Charter, were “significantly higher than a typical school on state administered tests for growth,” data released weeks earlier showed “that 42 percent of Agora students tested on grade level or better in math, compared with 75 percent of students statewide.

And 52 percent of Agora students had hit the mark in reading, compared with 72 percent statewide.” The article suggested that students’ poorer performance was because K12 “tries to squeeze profits from public school dollars by raising enrollment, increasing teacher workload, and lowering standards.”

Other allegations said K12 doesn’t provide adequate support for students, yet it collects millions of dollars in profits from its schools. One anonymous source in the article stated that “these folks are fundamentally trying to do to public education what the banks did with home mortgages.”

Both Agora Cyber Charter and K12 have released statements adamantly denying the Times’ allegations and calling the article “unfair and one-sided.” Packard and K12 say the article aims to undermine virtual learning and its benefits to students.