Eyewitness Newsmakers: LAUSD superintendent talks cell phones, test scores, drugs in schools & more

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- On any given day, the Los Angeles Unified School District educates nearly half a million students. With that large number of students comes great responsibilities and, at times, even greater challenges.

In the latest episode of Eyewitness Newsmakers, LAUSD Superintendent Alberto Carvalho discussed what's going right in the district and what he's still working on.

Carvalho proudly detailed how test scores are up across the district. Every single grade level and all subject areas showed significant improvement, according to Carvalho, and LAUSD reading and math scores even improved at a higher rate than the rest of the state of California.

He attributes that to many factors, including professional development, more opportunities for kids during the summer and a reduction in class size.

The superintendent also addressed the recent incident at Walter Reed Middle School that forced more than a dozen students to be medically evaluated after ingesting something that looked like gummy candy, but may have contained a banned substance. He called the incident "regrettable" and said aggressive conversations are happening with parents and students, reiterating that he believes schools are the safest places in our community.

Superintendent Carvalho touched on what a new cell phone policy for students in classrooms could look like, the life-saving effectiveness of having Narcan in school buildings and what funding from a ballot measure on the November ballot would be used for.

Watch the full interview in the media player above.