Dive Brief:
- There's a big unsettled issue in Los Angeles's $1 billion iPad effort: Who is liable if a child breaks or loses the tablet?
- Senior district officials say they haven't decided on consequences if something happens to the $700 iPads being given to every student.
- At least one form sent home to parents said a parent is financially responsible for the device, but officials say they don't know if that approach was used uniformly — or if it should be.
Dive Insight:
This thorny question emerged after it was revealed that a few hundred high school students got around security measures on the iPads and visited unauthorized websites, prompting the district to suspend home use of the tablets. Even if the parent isn't responsible for damage, the district might not be on the hook immediately: The schools' contract with Apple says that broken, lost or stolen iPads will be replaced up to 5% of the contract's value.