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Tech Hiccups on LA's First Day of School

Tech Hiccups on LA's First Day of School

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Parents and students in Los Angeles had an unusual first day back to school on Monday. The return to in-class schooling at the nation's second largest school district was meant to go without a hitch. But Daily Pass, the Los Angeles Unified School District's pilot app, crashed.

Reporter Sarah Favot writes that the Microsoft-built app designed to screen and track COVID test and vaccine records for students and teachers encountered technical difficulties. Will it stick around?

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Amid the app's tech hiccups on the first day of school on Monday, screeners were checking a printed list at school entrances. If they couldn't access their health records through the Daily Pass, students were asked verbal health screening questions at the schoolhouse gate.

The app called Daily Pass uses a QR code that LAUSD school officials can scan to make sure teachers and students' health screenings, COVID test results and vaccination records are in step with safety protocol. Parents are responsible for getting their child a "baseline" COVID test, which are then added to a child's Daily Pass profile.

Vicky Tsai's success did not come easy. She struggled for years to get her company off the ground, and was, at one time, over $600,000 in debt. Today she is the founder of Tatcha, a Japanese beauty brand that sold to Unilever for a reported $500 million. Listen to her full interview in today's episode of the Behind Her Empire podcast.

Los Angeles-based Super, a platform that went into public beta on Tuesday, aims to make it easier for creators to build revenue models that fit their unique approach.