CCAP has convened a broad-based Anti-Fraud Task Force to develop and recommend strategies for deterring, detecting, and prosecuting fiscal misconduct in California’s public schools, with an emphasis on public charter schools.

Today, nearly 690,000 students are enrolled in about 1,285 California charter schools, according to the most recent data from the California Department of Education. Although incidents of fraud are rare in charter schools, as indeed they are in public schools as a whole, when misconduct does occur, it can produce devastating headlines and have serious consequences for public confidence and public resources, as well as for students and families, teachers, and the community — especially when a charter school has to be closed as a result.

In the most recent and largest case to be prosecuted, The People of the State of California v. Sean Joseph McManus, et al., the operators of A3 Charter Schools pled guilty to defrauding the state of at least $400 million dollars. Investigators with the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office uncovered a scheme that included falsifying enrollment data and manipulating financial and programmatic information.

A former deputy district attorney who helped prosecute the A3 case, Kevin Fannon, was a keynote speaker at CCAP’s 2022 Charter School Authorizers Conference, where he warned attendees about oversight gaps that could lead to such fraud being overlooked. As a follow-up, CCAP initiated the formation of a task force to convene a range of experts — including Fannon — to find ways to strengthen the system.

“The goal must be zero tolerance for fraud or financial abuse in California’s public education system,” says Dr. David Patterson, CCAP’s co-founder and board president. The Task Force is organized into subgroups that focus on three key outcomes:

1. Employing best practices and existing resources to deter and detect fraud where it occurs;
2. Making sure everyone in the system knows where and how to get help when there is a concern that something may not be right; and
3. Where necessary, recommend larger system improvements.

CCAP’s upcoming 2023 Charter School Authorizers Conference, June 13-16 in Palm Springs, will include a session sharing some best practices for fraud prevention and updates on the progress of the Task Force.