Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent Alberto Carvalho became the focus of a federal investigation Wednesday, when the FBI searched his home, the Associated Press reported.
AP said federal agents served search warrants not only at Carvalho’s residence but also at LAUSD headquarters and at a location near Miami where Carvalho had previously served as superintendent. The report did not specify what the investigation targets, and authorities have not publicly disclosed details about the matter.
Carvalho’s background includes decades of work in school systems. AP reported that he was born in Portugal and moved to the United States more than four decades ago at age 17. The report said he spent his early years in the U.S. living with limited resources, working in roles including as a dishwasher and day laborer, before later moving into education.
After completing a biology degree in 1990 from Barry University, AP said Carvalho taught science in Miami-Dade County. He then advanced through administrative roles in Florida, becoming a principal, district spokesperson, assistant superintendent and superintendent in 2008, according to the AP reporting.
During his 14-year tenure leading Miami-Dade County Public Schools, Carvalho received recognition for improvements, AP reported, including awards tied to graduation and academic performance, particularly among Black and Hispanic students. In 2014, AP said he was named Superintendent of the Year by the national superintendents association, and in 2021 Spain knighted him for expanding Spanish-language school programs.
Carvalho’s move to Los Angeles came in 2021, when AP said the Los Angeles Board of Education voted unanimously to make him superintendent. At the time, AP reported, the district had received substantial state and federal COVID-19 relief funding while also dealing with pandemic-era learning losses and declining enrollment.
In Los Angeles, AP reported that Carvalho emerged as a critic of aggressive immigration enforcement actions near schools. Just before students returned to school last August, AP said he urged immigration authorities not to conduct enforcement within a two-block radius of schools. AP also said the district announced measures intended to protect students and families, including changes to bus routes and distribution of family preparedness packets with “know-your-rights” information and guidance on designating a backup caregiver if a parent is detained.
The AP report also said Carvalho’s career has included controversies and scrutiny. In Florida, AP reported that in 2020 a nonprofit he founded had solicited a $1.57 million donation from an online education company the district planned to use but later dropped. AP said the Miami-Dade inspector general concluded the donation did not violate ethics policies but created an “appearance of impropriety,” recommending it be returned, and that the money instead went to teachers in the form of $100 gift cards.
Years earlier, AP said Carvalho faced criticism tied to explicit emails exchanged with a former Miami Herald reporter. AP reported that he denied having an affair but conceded the exchanges were inappropriate.
In Los Angeles, AP said Carvalho promoted an AI chatbot for students named “Ed” created by the AI company AllHere, paying the company $3 million after unveiling the technology in 2024. AP reported that three months later the district dropped its dealings with AllHere after the company collapsed and that Carvalho denied personal involvement in selecting the company, citing reporting by the Los Angeles Times. AP said that after AllHere’s founder was charged with securities and wire fraud and identity theft, Carvalho said he would appoint a task force to examine what went wrong, and AP reported there had been no announcements of such a task force.
The FBI searches Wednesday’s warrant service marks a new chapter for Carvalho’s leadership as LAUSD and its governing officials respond to questions about what investigators are seeking.