When Your Kid’s Remote Learning Software Was Created by a Cult Leader

A shocking new expose reveals distance learning software Acellus has a disturbing backstory and problematic coursework

For most parents of school-aged children, distance learning has been a pain in the ass—just another way that the coronavirus pandemic has made life more difficult than ever. Few have the multitasking ability to monitor their kid as they try to absorb a teacher’s lesson plan through a computer screen, all while the parent is likely doing his or her own remote work. For many parents, the whole thing has been a nightmare.

Imagine, however, juggling those baseline 2020 responsibilities while your kid is studying coursework with racist and sexist messaging. That’s been the case for students in schools around the country who’ve been using Acellus Learning Accelerator, a remote education platform that has come under fire for inappropriate educational materials that could double as propaganda. (One question about Osama bin Laden includes “Towelban” as a multiple-choice option; another depicts Harriet Tubman as a burglar.)

This saga gets even more bizarre when you look into the backstory of the creator of this software, Roger Billings, who was allegedly the leader of a “religious sect”—a Mormon offshoot called the Church of Jesus Christ in Zion—and has been accused of child abuse and molestation. In the investigative expose, “A Popular Online Learning…