SACRAMENTO — State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell today announced he has subpoenaed all student, financial, personnel, and attendance records of California Charter Academy (CCA), which recently closed two of its four schools displacing an estimated 4,000 students throughout California.

"I am most concerned that student records be maintained so that students may transition smoothly to other schools," O'Connell said. "Given my department's ongoing investigation and the uncertain future of this organization, it is vitally important that records be maintained and made available to our auditors."

CCA operated some 60 school sites throughout California under its four charters with three school districts in San Bernardino and Orange counties. In March, O'Connell called for an investigation of the organization, which was managed by the for-profit Educational Administrative Services Corp.

Over the past two years, the California Department of Education (CDE) withheld $3.2 million in funding to CCA, finding that 10 of its satellite sites violated a 2003 state law requiring charter schools to be located within the chartering district. CCA sued the department for the unpaid funding, and last month a Los Angeles Superior Court judge ruled in the state's favor.

"I am a strong supporter of charter schools," O'Connell said. "I also believe strongly that charter schools must be held fiscally and educationally accountable by local chartering districts."

The CDE's Charter Schools Division is working closely with the county offices of education and charter school membership organizations in the areas where CCA sites have closed to help parents and students from those schools find suitable alternatives before the start of the new school year.