Dept. of Education: Charter complaints unsubstantiated

After allegations of sex games, test tampering and other potentially criminal misdeeds, the Ohio Department of Education is largely finished with its investigation into Concept Schools.

The finding: The majority of the 106 complaints could not be substantiated.

State lawyer P.R. Casey presented an update to the state board of education at a meeting earlier this year. A few loose ends remain, however: the department's office of professional conduct could still take action at some point in the future, for example. But investigators with the department, Dayton police and childrens' services, found there wasn't enough detail or evidence to verify the claims, Casey said.

Concept Schools Vice President Salim Ucan called the allegations a "scripted" attack organized by teacher unions and "a few disgruntled former employees."

"What a shame that special interests that oppose the right of parents to choose the best school for their children trumped up these charges and wasted taxpayer resources on a charter school witch hunt," Ucan wrote in a statement after the findings were announced.

Concept Schools is a charter-school management company with 30 schools in seven states, including 18 in Ohio, according to its website. The most severe complaints seemed to be directed toward Dayton schools, but there was also an allegation about testing irregularities at Concept Schools' Horizon Science Academy in Bond Hill.

Ohio Auditor Dave Yost launched a separate investigation into testing irregularities at Horizon schools. That inquiry is ongoing, according to an office spokeswoman.

The FBI is also still investigating a "white-collar" type matter involving potentially improper relationships between Concept Schools and technology vendors, said special agent Vicki Anderson of the FBI's Cleveland office.

For the education department, part of the problem was the time lapse between the alleged incidents and when they were reported, Casey told board members. Some cases were up reported up to eight years after they allegedly took place. Memories were foggy, and from a testing standpoint, it's far too late for a do-over, Casey said.

"The only remedy for a testing violation is to retake the test," Casey said. "And by law, you can only redo one of these state tests within a two-week window."