A company seeking to operate a full-time virtual charter school in Maine is under investigation in Florida because of allegations it used uncertified teachers and tried to get employees to assist in concealing that fact from school district officials.

The Florida Department of Education confirmed that K12 Inc., of Herndon, Va., is under investigation by the department's investigator general at the behest of the public school district in Seminole County, a largely suburban district in the Orlando area.

The company was at the center of a Maine Sunday Telegram investigation published Sept. 2 that showed how it was influencing the development of digital education policy in Maine.

Internal K12 Inc. emails obtained last winter by Seminole County Public Schools and forwarded to investigators suggest the company was using uncertified teachers in violation of Florida law, even after being warned by officials not to do so. K12 operates the Seminole Virtual Instruction Program for the district. Seminole County school officials confirmed the emails' content.

The Florida Department of Education has launched an investigation of K12, the nation's largest online educator, over allegations the company uses uncertified teachers and has asked employees to help cover up the practice.

K12 officials asked state-certified teachers to sign class rosters that included students they hadn't taught, according to documents that are part of the investigation.

In one case, a K12 manager instructed a certified teacher to sign a class roster of more than 100 students. She only recognized seven names on that list.

"I cannot sign off on students who are not my actual students," K12 teacher Amy Capelle wrote to her supervisor.