Federal investigators executed search warrants Wednesday at the residence of Alberto Carvalho, the superintendent overseeing Los Angeles public schools, along with the district’s main offices and a Miami-area location connected to his previous role.
The FBI action is part of an ongoing federal probe, though officials have not disclosed the nature of their investigation.
Carvalho has built his career around transforming educational outcomes in major urban school systems across the country.
Born in Portugal, Carvalho has openly shared his journey from childhood poverty to educational leadership during various public appearances and media interviews throughout his career.
He arrived in the United States over 40 years ago as a teenager without legal immigration status. Starting his American experience in New York City before relocating to Miami, he initially supported himself through manual labor jobs, including washing dishes and working as a day laborer.
After earning his biology degree from Barry University, a Catholic institution near Miami, in 1990, he began his education career teaching science in Miami-Dade County schools.
“My world changed when I became a teacher,” Carvalho remarked in 2021. “I still feel this journey is a fairytale.”
His rise through Miami’s education system was swift, advancing from classroom teacher to principal, then serving as district spokesperson and assistant superintendent before taking the top position in 2008.
Throughout his 14-year leadership of Miami-Dade County Public Schools, Carvalho earned recognition for boosting graduation rates and academic achievement, particularly among Black and Hispanic student populations.
The national superintendents association honored him as Superintendent of the Year in 2014, and Spain knighted him in 2021 for expanding Spanish-language educational programs.
Los Angeles school board members unanimously selected him for their superintendent role in 2021, bringing him to lead a district dealing with both substantial COVID-19 relief funding and pandemic-related challenges including learning setbacks and enrollment drops.
Academic performance improvements in the district over the past five years have drawn praise for Carvalho’s leadership.
Drawing from his own immigration experience, Carvalho has consistently pushed back against federal immigration enforcement activities in the Los Angeles area.
The district serves approximately 500,000 students, including roughly 30,000 immigrants, some without legal documentation, making it the country’s second-largest school system.
Last August, before the school year began, he called on immigration officials to avoid enforcement actions within two blocks of school campuses.
“We are appealing to the better senses of those who have the power to eliminate trauma from the streets of our community,” Carvalho stated.
His protective measures for students and families included modifying bus routes to serve more students and distributing preparedness materials containing legal rights information, emergency contacts, and guidance on arranging alternative caregivers if parents face detention.
Carvalho’s career has included some controversial moments. In Florida during 2020, questions arose when a nonprofit organization he established received a $1.57 million contribution from an online education company that the district initially planned to contract but ultimately rejected.
While the district’s inspector general found no violation of ethics rules, the official noted the situation created an “appearance of impropriety” and recommended returning the funds. Instead, the money was distributed as $100 gift cards to Miami-Dade teachers.
Earlier in his Miami tenure, Carvalho faced criticism over inappropriate email exchanges with a former Miami Herald journalist. He denied having an affair while acknowledging the communications were improper.
More recently in Los Angeles, Carvalho promoted the creation of “Ed,” an AI chatbot developed by AllHere for student use. After investing $3 million in the technology in 2024, the district severed ties with AllHere just three months later as the company collapsed.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Carvalho denied personal involvement in choosing AllHere. Following fraud and identity theft charges against the company’s founder, he promised to establish a task force to review the failed project, though no such group has been announced.
