The Texas Education Agency begins a formal investigation into the Harmony Public Schools network, a Gülen-affiliated group of charter schools operating throughout the state on taxpayer dollars. The probe comes after Amsterdam & Partners, LLP’s filing of a complaint (supplement available here) detailing the the charter school network’s illegal hiring practices and ties to the transnational Gülen movement.

The Texas Education Agency is launching an investigation into the state’s largest charter school operator following complaints the school funneled contracts to Turkish-owned vendors who have ties to Harmony Public School’s leadership.

The state agency also is investigating the 31,000-student charter school system for misuse of federal and state funds after Harmony allegedly guaranteed a $1.9 million bond debt of a Turkish charter school network in Arkansas.

The 38-page complaint was filed in May by Amsterdam & Partners LLP, a law firm hired by the Republic of Turkey at a cost of at least $50,000 a month to investigate the school system. The complaint, which was amended this month to include accusations about how the school system issues bonds, accused Harmony of an illegal hiring scheme, which the state is not investigating at this time. The complaint also accuses the school of supporting an exiled Muslim cleric and using state and federal dollars to support the Gulen movement.

TEA officials asked the school system  for a copy of documents pertaining to contracts, bonds, purchasing agreements, vendors and a list of employees involved in purchasing from July of 2014  to July of 2016. Harmony is to respond by Aug. 11.

State Rep. Dan Flynn steered attention to the embattled charter school this month, asking the attorney general to begin its own investigation into the charter school system’s hiring practices and use of taxpayer funds. The attorney general’s office declined to comment on whether it would investigate the school.

Full article available here.