Alyson Klein of Education Week writes about a bitter split between the for-profit K12 Inc. and the Georgia Cyber Academy, which it has run for 12 years.

Students locked out of their school’s computer systems. Educators unable to get access to some students’ records. Parents receiving emails asking that they return their children’s laptops.

That’s the state of play as K12 Inc., a major for-profit provider of online education, is in the midst of an acrimonious split with the Georgia Cyber Academy. The school, which serves about 11,000 students, is one of the largest virtual schools in the country.

To be sure, it’s hardly unusual for a vendor and charter school operator to go their separate ways. But it’s rare for both sides to be venting their frustrations so openly.

“This is the most public split between a vendor and a school that we’ve seen play out,” said Corrie Leech, the director of communications for the National Association of Charter School Authorizers.

K12 Inc. said the cyber academy was warned about potential disruptions if it withdrew from the company’s platform—a step K12 says violated an agreement.

The company has faced sharp criticism in a number of states—as have other operators of online charters—over its schools’ poor showing on state measures of academic progress, and questions about whether big public investments in its programs make sense. The company has argued that state accountability systems don’t provide an accurate gauge of its schools’ performances, and that its services are valued by parents whose children have struggled in traditional academic settings.