Hawai’i Set to Drop Acellus Remote Learning Platform Following Allegations of Abuse Against Creator

But other school districts across the country continue to use the platform

Sarah Emerson
OneZero

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Hawaiʻi is the first state expected to drop the controversial online learning platform, Acellus, following a OneZero investigation into the product and its creator, Roger Billings. But while hundreds of schools across the islands will likely stop using Acellus, countless other school districts in the United States continue to use the platform, a OneZero review found.

On Friday, OneZero published findings that Acellus was connected to a religious “cult” where Billings reportedly perpetrated and encouraged physical and emotional violence, unpaid labor, and child sexualization. Hours later, Hawaii’s Board of Education issued a memo recommending that Hawaii’s hundreds of public schools phase out Acellus by the end of the 2020–2021 school year, according to Civil Beat.

Catherine Payne, chairperson of the Hawaiʻi Board of Education, wrote in the

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Sarah Emerson
OneZero

Staff writer at OneZero covering social platforms, internet communities, and the spread of misinformation online. Previously: VICE