Federal authorities seized 20 boxes of documents from the Los Angeles Unified School District as part of an investigation into contracts for a $1.3 billion effort to purchase thousands of iPads for students, it was reported today.
“They stopped by late yesterday afternoon,” Superintendent Ramon Cortines told the Los Angeles Times, according to a story posted on the paper’s website. “I found out at 4:30 in the afternoon on Monday.”
Cortines said he alerted the district’s general counsel and asked that members of the Board of Education be notified.
LAUSD officials had no immediate comment on the federal action, but said a statement would likely be issued later today.
Cortines told The Times he was trying to learn more about the nature of the investigation. But The Times reported that FBI agents were investigating the handling of the effort to provide iPads or other electronic devices to every student, teacher and administrator.
The district’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.
Deasy denied any wrongdoing, but the questions led to increased pressure on him to step aside, which he did in mid-October.
The rollout of the iPad program was beset by other problems, such as students who managed to work around security software so they could browse the Internet on the devices.