The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has confirmed that on the morning of Wednesday, the 25th, agents executed a search warrant authorized by the court at the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) headquarters as well as the residence of the district superintendent, Alberto Carvalho. The specifics of the search have not been disclosed.
The district later confirmed the law enforcement action in a statement, stating, “We are aware of the law enforcement activity at the district headquarters and the superintendent’s residence. The district is cooperating with the investigation and currently has no further information to provide.”
The FBI press office informed an English Epoch Times reporter, “The affidavit supporting the search warrant has been sealed by the court, so we have no comment to offer.”
A spokesperson stated that the Los Angeles Police Department was not involved in the search operation, and the matter has been handed over to the FBI for handling.
The Los Angeles Unified School District is the second-largest school district in the United States, overseeing 783 schools and at one point serving over 500,000 students. However, in the 2025-2026 school year, the enrollment in the district significantly dropped, with approximately 9,500 fewer students.
Superintendent Alberto Carvalho had previously shared publicly that in the 1980s, he immigrated illegally from Portugal to the United States to escape poverty. Since February 2022, Carvalho has held the position of superintendent at LAUSD.
A superintendent is equivalent to the chief executive officer of a school district, responsible for overseeing all educational, financial, and operational matters. Carvalho had previously led the Miami-Dade County public schools in Florida for 14 years. The FBI has not disclosed the specific details of the authorized court search in this case.
Currently, Carvalho and the school district are facing legal challenges on two fronts.
Last year, a group of district students and former district superintendent Austin Beutner filed a lawsuit alleging that Carvalho and the district misused nearly $77 million in funds from Proposition 28, which were meant for arts and music education.
In 2022, California voters passed the proposition aimed at providing more funding for arts and music education, allowing districts to hire more arts and music teachers and aides at all schools to enhance the quality of instruction. The district denies any wrongdoing related to the allegations and emphasizes that it has fully complied with all provisions of the proposition.
A week ago, the Department of Justice joined a civil rights lawsuit against Carvalho and LAUSD. The nonprofit organization 1776 Project Foundation, which brought the lawsuit, accuses the district of using racial demographic data to determine school funding allocations.