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Federal agents raided the Los Angeles Unified School District headquarters and the home of its superintendent Alberto Carvalho on Wednesday as part of an undisclosed investigation that also extended to a location near Miami.
FBI officials confirmed that search warrants were executed at multiple properties but declined to provide details on the nature of the investigation, citing sealed affidavits. Television news footage captured agents wearing FBI jackets outside Carvalho’s residence in San Pedro, approximately 20 miles south of downtown Los Angeles.
The LAUSD, the nation’s second-largest school district, released a brief statement acknowledging the investigation and indicating its cooperation, though it offered no further information about the circumstances surrounding the raids.
Carvalho, who has led the Los Angeles district since 2022, previously served as superintendent of Miami-Dade County Public Schools in Florida. During his tenure in both districts, he has received significant recognition for educational improvements, including being named Superintendent of the Year in 2014 by the national superintendents association. In 2021, Spain knighted the Portugal-born administrator for his work expanding Spanish-language programs in Miami-Dade schools.
Despite his accolades, Carvalho’s leadership has not been without controversy. Earlier this year, the Los Angeles district faced scrutiny over a $3 million contract with education technology company AllHere, which Carvalho had publicly championed as “a game changer.” The company, which developed an AI chatbot called “Ed” for the district, collapsed into bankruptcy less than three months after the technology was unveiled. The company’s founder, Joanna Smith-Griffin, was subsequently charged with securities fraud, wire fraud, and identity theft.
Though Carvalho denied personal involvement in selecting AllHere and promised to appoint a task force to examine what went wrong, no such task force has been announced.
Questions about Carvalho’s judgment also arose during his Florida tenure. In 2020, a nonprofit organization he founded solicited a $1.57 million donation from an online education company that the Miami-Dade district was considering for use. Although the district’s inspector general determined the donation didn’t violate ethics policies, the report concluded it created an “appearance of impropriety” and recommended the funds be returned. Instead, the nonprofit distributed the donation to Miami-Dade teachers as $100 gift cards.
Carvalho has positioned himself as an advocate for immigrant students, particularly in response to immigration enforcement actions during the Trump administration. Following raids in Los Angeles last year, he urged immigration authorities to avoid enforcement activity within a two-block radius of schools.
“I would be the biggest hypocrite in the world, regardless of my position today, if today I did not fight for those who find themselves in the same predicament I faced over 40 years ago when I arrived in this country at the age of 17 as an undocumented immigrant,” Carvalho stated at a news conference.
The superintendent arrived in Los Angeles during a challenging period, as the district navigated pandemic recovery while managing substantial COVID-19 relief funding. His hiring came after he had publicly disagreed with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis over school mask mandates during the pandemic.
The FBI’s actions mark the second time in a week that the Los Angeles school district has faced Justice Department scrutiny. On February 19, the department joined a lawsuit alleging that the district discriminates against white students under its long-standing desegregation policy.
James Marshall, an FBI spokesperson in Miami, confirmed that agents had searched a residence in Southwest Ranches, located in Broward County west of Fort Lauderdale, on Wednesday morning but provided no additional information.
The Los Angeles Mayor’s office stated it had no information about the searches, noting that the school district operates independently from city government.
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5 Comments
The lack of details raises questions about the FBI’s motives here. I hope the investigation is thorough and fair, and that the public gets a clear explanation of the findings.
Carvalho has a strong track record, so these raids are surprising. I wonder if this is a politically-motivated investigation or if there are legitimate concerns about misconduct or mismanagement.
This seems like a high-profile investigation into the LAUSD leadership. I’m curious to learn more about the nature of the probe and whether it’s related to the district’s operations or the superintendent’s background.
Carvalho’s background in education reform is impressive, so I’m curious to learn if this investigation is related to his work in Los Angeles or Miami-Dade. Hopefully it’s not a case of politics interfering with progress.
While the lack of details is concerning, I’m glad the LAUSD is cooperating with the investigation. Hopefully this will lead to a fair and transparent process that clears up any questions about the district’s operations.