HOUSTON - The co-founder of one of the nation's leading system of charter schools has been fired amid allegations of sexual misconduct.

KIPP announced Thursday that it had fired Mike Feinberg after an independent investigation found "credible evidence" to support three allegations of sexual misconduct. In a statement, the enterprise Feinberg co-founded in Houston 24 years ago said the investigation was triggered by an allegation last spring of sexual abuse of a student in the late 1990s.

The investigation by the law firm WilmerHale couldn't confirm the allegation conclusively, but it uncovered evidence of sexual harassment by Feinberg against an adult KIPP alumna employed by KIPP Houston in 2004, which led to a financial settlement.

KIPP said Feinberg denied the allegations. A telephone call to his suburban Houston home Thursday night rang unanswered.