Turkey seeks probes of American charter schools it says are linked to Fethullah Gulen
The government of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has asked education officials in Texas and California to investigate publicly funded charter schools in those states that it says are linked to a Muslim cleric living in the United States, a man the government alleges was the mastermind of a coup attempt this month. The Turkish government also is planning to bring more complaints in other parts of the U.S.
The Erdogan government, through the international law firm Amsterdam & Partners LLP, recently filed a formal complaint with the Texas Education Agency against a charter network called Harmony Public Schools, which operates 46 math, science and technology campuses in Texas and has received more than $250 million in federal and state funds.
Turkey alleges that the Harmony schools are part of a network of more than 160 charter schools in more than 25 states started by Turkish men, all said to be inspired by Fethullah Gulen, the preacher who lives in seclusion in Pennsylvania. The complaint in Texas alleges, among other things, that the schools have abused public funds, funneled money to Gulen’s movement — known as Hizmet (or Service) — violated legal requirements surrounding open and competitive bidding, and discriminated against employees on the basis of national origin and gender.
Officials at the Harmony schools — the first of the network of charters said to be Gulen-inspired — have repeatedly denied any connection to Gulen or any intent to proselytize religion at the schools. Soner Tarim, a co-founder and chief executive officer of Harmony Public Schools, said the allegations against the successful charter schools are false.
“The government of Turkey is spending millions of dollars on lobbyists and publicists. Just because Registered Foreign Agents keep repeating these allegations, doesn’t make them true,” Tarim said. “No one disputes our success of a 98 percent graduation rate and 100 percent college acceptance rate. It is time to look at the facts, not reprint false accusations.”
The D.C. Public Charter School Board allowed a Harmony charter school to open in the nation’s capital in 2014, and the head of the board, Scott Pearson, said he thoroughly investigated claims that the charter is connected to the Gulen movement, first when he was working at the Turkey seeks probes of American charter schools it says are linked to Fethullah Gulen - The Washington Post:
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