California takes action to prevent future charter school fraud

Following a significant fraud scandal involving A3 Education, California has taken decisive steps to reform the auditing and oversight of charter schools to prevent future misconduct. The scandal, which saw the indictment of founders Sean McManus and Jason Schrock in 2019, exposed deep flaws in the system that allowed the network of 19 schools to misappropriate millions in public funds. A court-commissioned task force led by State Controller Malia Cohen has released a 50-page report that outlines 20 recommendations aimed at enhancing the training, selection, oversight, and discipline of school auditors and expanding their responsibilities to include not just charter schools but also district and county education offices. The recommendations come in the wake of revelations that A3 Education fraudulently enrolled participants from summer athletic programs to claim state funding, even though these students received no educational services. In response to these findings, the task force, which included diverse stakeholders such as the California Charter Schools Association and the California School Boards Association, emphasized the need for legislative action and additional funding to implement these changes.