Epic Charter Schools' expansion into Texas in limbo amid new revelations about criminal investigatio

Epic Charter Schools' expansion into Texas in limbo amid new revelations about criminal investigation


Epic Charter Schools’ expansion into Texas has been halted just a few weeks before the start of the new school year.

On June 5, Epic publicly announced it had a deal with iSchool Virtual Academy of Texas, or iSVA, a public charter school, to offer students there in grades 3-12 its blended learning model, which combines online and in-person instruction. iSchool Virtual Academy’s governing board approved the contract with Epic on June 14.

But the charter school’s operator told the Tulsa World it needed approval from the Texas Education Agency, which is Texas’ state department of education, and it has decided to withdraw the contract for consideration amid new revelations about a criminal investigation into Epic.

“ResponsiveEd provides a quality web-based education to online learners through iSchool Virtual Academy of Texas, a state-accredited public charter school. We entered into an agreement with Epic Charter Schools in order to offer additional educational options to our iSVA students. As required by state law, the contract was submitted to our authorizer, the Texas Education Agency, for approval. In light of recent allegations regarding Epic Charter Schools, the contract has been withdrawn,” said Billy Rudolph, a spokesman for Responsive Education Solutions. “Any potential future agreements will not be discussed until the release of a public statement from the state of Oklahoma deeming all allegations erroneous.”

Read more: https://www.tulsaworld.com/news/local/education/epic-charter-schools-expansion-into-texas-in-limbo-amid-new/article_f53dcdf2-4ac7-5be1-a9a8-3089f1b7d059.html