Apple, L.A. schools negotiate lower price on thousands of iPads for students

LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles Unified School District is getting a break on the price of thousands of iPads, as it continues the rollout of a $1 billion plan to provide the tablets to all students.

The Los Angeles Times reported Thursday that under a deal with Apple, the district would save $200 each on iPads that will be used on new state tests, although the computers won't include curriculum.

The revised price will be $504, which compares to $699 for the computers with curriculum. With taxes and other fees, the full cost of the more fully equipped devices rises to $768.

Los Angeles' school system, the second largest in the United States, announced the deal last June to purchase iPads for all its students, handing Apple a major success in its quest to make the tablet computer a replacement for textbooks.

School officials are hopeful the new iPads will be ready to use by April 7, when statewide standardized testing is scheduled to begin, the Times reported.

There has been pressure to contain costs on the program since reports surfaced that the Los Angeles schools are paying more for devices than other school systems.

The district-wide rollout began at 47 schools in the fall. In late September, the program made unwanted headlines when hundreds of students discovered a simple hacking technique that let them gain access to social media sites and web surfing functions which were supposed to be blocked on the tablets. School officials responded by banning students from taking the iPads home.