Los Angeles (AP) — The FBI carried out search warrants Wednesday at the headquarters of the Los Angeles Unified School District and at the home of its superintendent, Alberto Carvalho, a former Superintendent of the Year who was honored with a knighthood by Spain for his contributions to education.
Authorities have not yet explained the purpose of the federal investigation involving the country’s second-largest school district and Carvalho’s residence. In a statement, the district said it is cooperating fully but has no additional details to share. Agents also searched a third location near Miami, where Carvalho previously led the public school system.
Television footage showed FBI agents outside Carvalho’s modest home in San Pedro, roughly 20 miles south of downtown Los Angeles. By mid-morning, there were no visible agents outside district headquarters.
Rukelt Dalberis, spokesperson for the FBI’s Los Angeles field office, confirmed that agents were serving search warrants at the locations but declined further comment, noting that court documents explaining the searches remain sealed.
Before becoming head of the Los Angeles district in 2022, Carvalho led Miami-Dade County Public Schools from 2008 to 2021. During that period, graduation rates and academic performance improved. He was recognized nationally as Superintendent of the Year in 2014. Born in Portugal, Carvalho was knighted by Spain in 2021 for expanding Spanish-language education programs in Miami-Dade schools.
In California, Carvalho has been a vocal critic of the Trump administration’s strict immigration enforcement policies, particularly following raids in Los Angeles last year. When students returned to school in the fall, he urged immigration officials to avoid conducting enforcement operations within two blocks of school campuses.
Last year, Carvalho said he would be hypocritical if he did not advocate for immigrant families, recalling that he came to the United States more than 40 years ago at age 17 as an undocumented immigrant.
Carvalho took leadership of the Los Angeles district at a pivotal time. Although the district received significant state and federal COVID-19 relief funds, it continued to face pandemic-related challenges such as learning loss and falling enrollment. Previously, he also clashed with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis over a policy prohibiting school mask mandates during the pandemic.
Officials from the Miami-Dade school system did not immediately respond to inquiries about whether federal authorities had contacted them regarding Carvalho.
In Miami, FBI spokesperson James Marshall confirmed that agents searched a home in Southwest Ranches, located in Broward County west of Fort Lauderdale, on Wednesday morning and later cleared the property. He said no further details were available.
The search marks the second action taken by the Justice Department involving the Los Angeles school district within a week. On February 19, the Trump administration joined a lawsuit claiming the district discriminates against White students under its long-standing desegregation policy.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass’s office said it had no information about the investigation, emphasizing that the public school district operates independently from city government.
