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FBI Seizes LAUSD Documents Linked To iPad Rollout

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA/AP) — Federal prosecutors in Los Angeles have convened a grand jury to investigate possible criminal wrongdoing in the Los Angeles Unified School District's iPad scandal.

FBI agents have seized 20 boxes of documents related to LAUSD's beleaguered $1 billion iPad project, The Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday.

FBI agents visited LAUSD headquarters to investigate the handling of the effort to provide iPads or other electronic devices to every student, teacher and administrator.

An LAUSD spokeswoman confirmed to The Associated Press the FBI had seized district documents Monday afternoon, but no other details were offered.

"The L.A Unified School District will offer its full cooperation to federal authorities during the course of the investigation," Interim Superintendent Ramon Cortines said in a statement, adding that the visit surprised school officials.

LAUSD general counsel David Holmquist told CBS2/KCAL9 he thought it was "unusual" to get such a request and said he was unable to provide further details.

"I have no idea what it's about. You know pretty much all I know. We've gotten a request a subpoena, a request to preserve records, and that is it," Holmquist stated.

The FBI would not comment on a pending investigation.

The action comes less than two weeks after LAUSD officials got the green light 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 Nov. 20 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.

Former Superintendent John Deasy instituted a district plan to give each student an iPad, but the program has been plagued with problems.

Deasy's communications with vendors have been investigated. He resigned in October.

Deasy was not immediately available for comment.

(TM and © Copyright 2014 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2014 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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