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California reparations payouts on hold, but state moves toward apology for slavery
The California Senate held up plans to dole out reparations payouts to its citizens, but the Assembly voted to formally apologize for the state’s role in slavery.
The California Assembly passed a bill Thursday that will accept responsibility for “all of the harms and atrocities committed by the state” and will head to the Senate, the Los Angeles Times reported. AB 3089 was passed unanimously among Democrats, but some Republicans abstained from voting.
“It is undeniable that our systems of government have been complicit in the oppression of African Americans. … California’s history is tarnished by the subjugation of Black people,” Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas said in support of the bill, the LA Times reported. “It is a wound that still needs to heal.”
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A large crowd of protesters wearing masks carry signs that say, “Reparations Now” as they walk through neighborhoods at the Black Lives Matter protest in Bayside, Queens. (Ira L. Black/Corbis via Getty Images)
“Not only is the apology letter important … it’s whether or not we go ahead and fulfill the dream of what my ancestors wanted, which is to fully make us part of the American dream,” the author of the bill, California Assemblyman Reggie Jones-Sawyer, said on the assembly floor, the LA Times reported.
California introduced a series of reparations bills in January that would give property tax and cash payouts to the descendants of slaves, but that plan was put on hold Thursday during the Senate fiscal process, with legislators citing the state’s massive budget deficit, the LA Times reported.
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“The next couple of years will be difficult for the legislative and budget processes,” said State Sen. Anna Caballero, a Democrat who chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee. “Finding balance will be critical to ensure that we can continue to make our government work efficiently and prudently.”
Long-time Los Angeles resident, Walter Foster, 80, holds up a sign as the Reparations Task Force meets to hear public input on reparations at the California Science Center in Los Angeles on Sept. 22, 2022. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
The controversial cash compensation proposal made headlines last year after the state’s reparations task force, aimed at informing lawmakers on how to best implement reparations, recommended payments given to Black residents based on the type of historical discrimination their family faced.
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But that did not make it into the proposed bill, which made no mention of providing cash payment to descendants of slaves and others historically discriminated against by the government.
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“We know we build generational wealth through home ownership, and African Americans have been denied home ownership since the Emancipation Proclamation. Their freedom, it was about land,” said Democratic state Sen. Steven Bradford, who authored two reparations bills that were held back.
Assembly Republican Leader James Gallagher called slavery “a terrible stain on our history” but didn’t support parts of the bill that said the state is still denying Black residents some rights and that police shootings are “state-sanctioned violence,” the LA Times reported.
“We have made tremendous progress toward a more equal society,” Gallagher said.
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FBI raid involving LA schools superintendent possibly tied to failed $6M AI deal, potential conflict
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The federal investigation into the Los Angeles Unified School District superintendent, whose home and school office were raided Wednesday, may be tied to a failed multimillion-dollar AI school contract involving a potential conflict of interest.
Alberto Carvalho previously awarded a $6 million contract, paying $3 million up front, to education technology company AllHere.
A former salesperson employed by the firm also had her Miami property raided the same day as Carvalho, according to public records cited by the Los Angeles Times. The woman, Debra Kerr, reportedly had close ties to Carvalho during his tenure leading Miami-Dade County Public Schools.
Spokesperson Jim Marshall confirmed to local media Miami Herald that “we searched a residence in Southwest Ranches today as part of this matter and have since cleared the scene.”
Superintendent Alberto Carvalho speaks during an event at the LAUSD headquarters in downtown Los Angeles on October 30, 2025. (Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
In 2023, Carvalho secured a contract with AllHere to develop an AI chatbot called “Ed,” designed to help address student issues such as absenteeism.
It ultimately collapsed in 2024 after its founder, Joanna Smith-Griffi, was accused of embezzling funds amid data privacy risks and whistleblower concerns. She was later charged with securities fraud, wire fraud and identity theft.
Kerr further claimed in AllHere’s bankruptcy court filings that the company owed her commissions for helping secure its deal with LAUSD, according to education-focused outlet The 74.
While federal officials confirmed that search warrants were conducted Wednesday, they declined to reveal the nature of the investigation, noting that the warrants remain under seal.
Federal officials appear to carry cardboard outside a home in California. (KTTV)
However, sources told the LA Times that the investigation fell under the broad category of financial issues, and that the raid focused on Carvalho rather than the California school district.
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LAUSD released a statement saying the district is fully cooperating with federal officials.
“The LAUSD Board of Education understands that today’s news has raised questions across our school communities,” it said.
“The Board’s priority remains ensuring that our students, families, and employees experience a safe and welcoming learning environment. Teaching and learning continue across our schools. Los Angeles Unified continues to stay focused on our responsibility to serve students and our families.”
The superintendent has led the nation’s second-largest school district since 2022, overseeing the education of roughly 400,000 students. He was also unanimously reappointed to the position in September 2025.
Before moving to California, he spent 14 years leading Miami‑Dade County Public Schools, the nation’s fourth-largest school district.
The home of Alberto Carvalho, the superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District, is located in San Pedro, California. (KTTV)
Wednesday’s raids mark the latest controversy to engulf Carvalho.
In 2020, he helped secure a $1.57 million donation from a company that had a pending contract with the district, the Miami Herald reported.
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FBI agents appear to conduct a search warrant at a San Pedro home connected to Alberto Carvalho. (KTTV)
The funds reportedly went to an education nonprofit he founded, and the company’s online learning program, which was ultimately plagued with problems, was quickly scrapped.
In June 2021, the school’s inspector general determined that the donation, intended to benefit teachers, did not violate any policies but created the “appearance of impropriety,” the outlet said. The foundation was subsequently urged to return the funds, which reportedly had been distributed to teachers as $100 gift certificates.
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