Dive Brief:

• Private companies in Utah are being paid millions in taxpayer money to recruit online students who take only a few classes while their schools get paid full-time money, an audit finds.
• While students are enrolled in public charter schools, some of those schools all but ignore student performance and attendance and leave it to the private companies, the report says.
• Officials with the two companies cited in the report say they have done nothing wrong and welcome suggestions for improvement.

Dive Insight:

The audit found that districts that manage the programs themselves generally do a better job compared with those that contract with private companies. The full report has more details.