Fairfax County Public School teachers have been helping students obtain abortions without the knowledge and consent of their parents, according to a whistleblower who recently exposed the scandal.
Now, the school district is claiming they just learned of the matter, even though the whistleblower, Centrevile High School teacher Zenaida Perez, had brought it to their attention on multiple occasions.
From Fox News Digital:
On a recent morning, Centreville High School teacher Zenaida Perez had a surprise visitor at the northern Virginia school where she teaches English as a second language: a high-powered lawyer investigating allegations that Perez had made public that a school social worker coaxed and funded a student’s 2021 abortion.
The Clifton school district’s superintendent, Michelle Reid, responded to the allegations the next day, claiming the school system had just "learned yesterday" about the potential scandal. Last Thursday, Reid emailed Centreville High School parents, again claiming that the district had taken "immediate action to engage an external independent investigator to get all the facts."
Perez's visitor was Mary McGowan, a retired lawyer from Blankingship & Keith, a longtime go-to firm for Fairfax County Public Schools. In a nearly three-hour interview, Perez told McGowan how she had blown the whistle seven times about the abortion scandal since May 2022, only to be ignored and then retaliated against.
School district officials were "covering up" the alleged abortion scandal, Perez said she told McGowan. in the interview.
"Your recollection is outstanding," McGowan acknowledged at one point, according to Perez. Indeed, a detailed review of hundreds of pages of documents, emails and records confirm Perez’s timeline.
Perez told McGowan that she issued her first warning on May 5, 2022, in a meeting with then-principal, Chad Lehman, and an assistant principal. She said that a school social worker had allegedly facilitated and financed a 17-year-old student’s abortion the year before, without her guardian’s knowledge.
The teacher sent a second letter to Lehman in May 2022. Fox News Digital noted that FCPS policy states that “every effort shall be made to encourage and support students suspecting pregnancy to discuss their concerns with their parents or guardians.” But the policy does not mandate that teachers inform parents about these discussions.
The scandal centers on two female students at the high school who alleged that school officials facilitated and paid for their abortions at Fairfax Healthcare Center without informing their parents. This is a violation of Virginia’s parental notification legislation. The WC Dispatch reported that one 17-year-old student said social worker Carolina Díaz “scheduled the appointment, paid the clinic’s fees, and swore her to secrecy.”
The second student, who was five months pregnant and wanted to keep her child, said Diaz informed her that she “had no choice” but to go through with the abortion. The student fled the clinic shortly after. Principal Lehman approved the procedures, which were funded by taxpayer dollars.
The second student informed Perez about the incident. She told the teacher that the school had not notified her parents. Perez provided The WC Dispatch with a verified recording of the family confirming they were not aware of the school’s actions.
This revelation prompted questions as to whether the school pushed other students to have abortions without their parents’ knowledge or consent. To perform these procedures on minors, doctors are required to have the signature of at least one parent unless a court orders a judicial bypass. Neither of these was present in the two girls’ cases, which could potentially open those involved to criminal prosecution.
Perez stated that after she spoke out about the issue, school administrators attempted to silence her. They pressured students to lure her into minor policy violations that administrators could use as an excuse to terminate her. Still, the teacher did not back down. “The girl never wanted that abortion, and her family was never told,” she said.
Editor's Note: President Trump is fighting to dismantle the Department of Education and ensure America's kids get the education they deserve.
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