While LA Unified officials yesterday dealt with the FBI probe into the district’s controversial iPad program, the school board approved a wave of new instructional hires and promotions despite an on-going hiring freeze. The personnel changes continue a shake-up at the highest levels of the organizational chart that began when Superintendent Ramon Cortines arrived just over...

*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 There’s a new report that negotiators for United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) might be pulling out at the next round of contract negotiations with LA Unified. A new study by the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ), finds that LA Unified teachers rank near the bottom of the 113 largest districts in the...

* 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...

The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools (NAPCS) issued its annual report today on the growth of charter school enrollment, and the results show another year of significant increases both in LA Unified and across the country. For the 2013-14 school year, charter enrollment in LA Unified jumped 15 percent, giving the district a total...

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...

Students at LA Unified will be among millions around the world participating next week in the Hour of Code event, designed to get kids interested in how to build computer codes. After an estimated 15 million students participated last year, the Hour of Code is aiming for 100 million students worldwide to participate during next week’s...

The LA Unified school board, gathering again tomorrow, will appear in open session long enough to hear the introduction of a largely symbolic measure, a resolution to support President Obama’s executive order on immigration. Then, the members will disappear into a closed meeting to review the usual subjects of closed meetings — personnel moves, litigation...

The California School Boards Association is not giving up the fight on Proposition 2, known as the Rainy Day Fund measure. It was passed by voters last month and sets aside bigger budget reserves while paying down more of the state’s debt. But critics say it harms school districts in the process by limiting how much they...