On Dec. 1 it will be a year since FBI agents showed up at LA Unified’s headquarters with a federal grand jury subpoena and carted off 20 boxes of documents related to the district’s controversial iPad program. Since that day little if any new information has been publicly revealed about the investigation’s status, and that...

LA Unified announced today a final agreement with Pearson, the software company, that will bring $6.45 million back to the district as reimbursement for the content and services delivered under a technology partnership. The settlement ends one aspect of the district’s iPad program, that was built upon a deal with Apple and Pearson and was...

Ever since the FBI seized documents in December related to LA Unified’s controversial iPad program, there have been no public updates on the case, but now it appears that the LA Unified school board and its legal department see trouble coming. It is just a single line in the agenda for tomorrow’s closed board meeting,...

The Securities and Exchange Commission has met with LA Unified seeking more information about its use of bond money for purchasing iPads that were pre-loaded with software supplied by education giant, Pearson. The meeting into the now-cancelled $1.3 billion program was “informal,” according to the Los Angeles Times, which said it focused on if the...

Robert Frost Middle School Principal, Francisco Ayala had his choice of iPads, Chromebooks or desktop computers for his students to take the state-mandated computerized Smarter Balanced test. The wireless iPads and Chromebooks represent part of a huge, $500 million technology investment by LA Unified that, just last year, was hailed as a pioneering effort to bridge the...

LA Unified will be conducting a district-wide dress rehearsal on Thursday for the upcoming Smarter Balance exam, California’s new standardized test assessing students on Common Core State Standards. The aim is to identify and resolve any glitches in the technological infrastructure before the tests are given, Lydia Ramos, a district spokesperson told LA School Report....

A $1.3 billion project fraught with controversy and a long list of disappointing results produced its first positive news in some time yesterday, as LA Unified reported a high level of success and satisfaction at a handful of schools where students were allowed to take home their district-issued iPads and other digital tablets. Members of...

In case you missed it, here are the top five stories from LA School Report this past week: LA Unified, citing new money, ups its offer to teachers Bolstered by a more robust state budget, LA Unified said it was doubling its offer to UTLA. Survey: Teachers support changes in state job protection laws The...

The LA Unified Bond Oversight Committee today agreed to approve another $25 million in bond fund spending to help the district fix MiSiS problems and equip schools with computers for standardized testing in the Spring. A team of district officials, including Superintendent Ramon Cortines, made lengthy presentations to the nine member committee, insisting that in...

Barely a week into his job as LA Unified superintendent, Ramon Cortines is pushing back against the school board that hired him, voicing opposition to using any more of the $1.3 billion in bond money to buy digital devices equipped with curriculum for use in classroom instruction. Three times since his first day on the...