LAUSD Committee Approves $13M Plan To Buy More iPads
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Los Angeles Unified School District officials got the green light Thursday to spend another $13 million on iPads and laptops to use in student testing planned for the spring.
The $13 million approved by a bond oversight committee Thursday still needs final approval by the district Board of Education and will be used along with about $9 million in previously approved bond funds.
This money will allow the district to purchase nearly 15,000 iPads, keyboards and 4,000 Chromebook laptops solely for the use of Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium testing.
The district plans to purchase more than 20,000 iPads overall.
LAUSD's effort to purchase instructional iPads or laptops for all of its students ground to a halt earlier this year when questions arose about then-Superintendent John Deasy's relationship with eventual contract winners Apple and education publisher Pearson. Deasy agreed to scrap the contract and solicit new bids.
The new devices will be used only for testing and will not include any instructional software.
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