Things went from bad to worse for publishing giant Pearson yesterday, as its stock took a dive following the news Wednesday that LA Unified announced plans to seek a refund for thousands of Apple iPads pre-loaded with Pearson educational software that the district said was ineffective. Pearson was the single worst performer on the Financial Times...

A report from the U.S. Education Department on the district’s troubled $1.3 billion iPad program and gitchy MiSiS computer system had few positive things to say, as it found problems in both efforts with their planning, execution and metrics for success. The report, which was requested by LA Unified Superintendent Ramon Cortines, found that the...

LA Unified’s recent order for new testing devices ensures that district students will have all the technical equipment they need to take the state mandated exam later this year. Whether the Smarter Balanced test results will be used for anything is a separate issue. While intense public scrutiny over the deal between the district and...

* UPDATED As LA School Report prepares to shut down for the year — and gear up for a long holiday Tamale Fest and Eggnog-a-thon — we’d like to take a moment to look ahead at the big stories awaiting us in 2015. So grab your snow globe, give it a good shake and look into...

The year 2014 was not a banner one in the history of the Los Angeles Unified School District. While there was positive news – in particular continued improvement in student achievement – the district often found itself the subject of increasingly negative headlines. Here, in no particular order, are the top stories about LA Unified...

LA Unified Superintendent Ramon Cortines said today the district is hiring outside lawyers to assist in any matter that might arise out of the grand jury investigation of the district’s procurement of digital devices. Cortines said the lawyers would provide legal advice should the authorities seek to interview or subpoena district officials as part of...

*UPDATED Twenty boxes of documents now in hand, the FBI is examining records from LA Unified that bear on its digital technology program. By terms of a subpoena, the documents will go before a federal grand jury Friday morning, and evidence of criminal wrong-doing could lead to indictments. But what exactly are investigators looking for,...

* UPDATED LA Unified Superintendent Ramon Cortines said today he’s delaying the district’s iPad program in the wake of an investigation into it by the FBI. Agents with the FBI visited the offices of LA Unified headquarters yesterday and seized 20 boxes of documents “having to do with the the procedures for purchasing of iPads...

Agents with the FBI visited the offices of LA Unified headquarters yesterday and seized files related to the district’s controversial $1.3 billion iPad program, a district spokesman confirmed. The FBI action was first reported by the Los Angeles Times, which said 20 boxes of documents were removed and that the seizure came as a complete...

Announcing the next phase of the digital device program to buy more iPads and Chromebooks was the easy part. Carrying it out is another issue. While LA Unified Superintendent Ramon Cortines was pretty clear on how he expected it to proceed, others in the district are not so sure. The district’s Chief Facilities Director says...