Education Department takes action on report Virginia high school worker helped student get abortion

The Education Department says it is taking "enforcement action" in response to reports a Virginia high school social work helped a student get an abortion without informing her parents.

The incident allegedly occurred at Centreville High School during the 2021-22 school year, according to a release Monday by the department.

In addition to allegedly scheduling the appointment for the 17-year-old student, the social worker also allegedly paid the clinic fees and "swore the girl to secrecy without informing the student’s parents," the release also states.

Also, the social worker allegedly pressured another student to get an abortion, telling her she “had no other choice” and directing her to the same clinic for an abortion, which the student ultimately did not do.

The department started the enforcement action under the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment, which gives parents of students the right to be notified and say no to any non-emergency, invasive physical examination or screening that is required by a school district.

“It shocks the conscience to learn that school personnel in Fairfax have allegedly exploited their positions of trust to push abortion services on students without parental knowledge or consent,” said Candice Jackson, the department's acting general counsel.

The department requested Fairfax County Public Schools to provide information by Oct. 17 on its policies and whether federal funds were used for “sensitive medical services, including abortion-related referrals or procedures.”

The allegations regarding the social worker were first detailed in August in a Substack post, according to The Washington Post. 

The school district launched an investigation into the allegations that month and said Tuesday that it “welcomes the opportunity to answer the DOE’s questions, based on our ongoing review of these 2021 allegations.”

Zenaida Perez, a teacher at Centreville, says she reported the incidents to school officials multiple times and retained legal support from Americans United for Life, a pro-life group.

Virginia GOP Gov. Glenn Youngkin has directed State Police to investigate the claims, and Louisiana GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy last week demanded that the school district turn over related materials by Monday.

Cassidy, a doctor and chaiman of the Senate Health committee, has also asked the county's school superintendent, Michelle Reid, for details about the district’s federal funding and whether it had investigated the abortion claims before the news reports.