Feds seek answers from Virginia school district over alleged staff-arranged abortions

The U.S. Department of Education’s Student Privacy Policy Office on Monday said it would require Fairfax County Public Schools, or FCPS, to provide information about the district’s policies related to parental notification. The school system will be required to share information about procedures in effect from 2021 through the current school year that determine how parents are consulted about nonemergency, invasive physical examinations or screening. It will also be required to provide any documentation related to two incidents in which female students claimed a school staff member scheduled and paid for their abortions. The district last month said it was investigating allegations made by two former Centreville High School students that social worker Carolina Díaz arranged their abortions during the 2021-22 school year without notifying their parents. One student went through with the procedure, while the other did not. Excluding parents from such sensitive situations and life-changing procedures is both morally unconscionable and illegal, said the Education Department’s acting general counsel, Candice Jackson. The district must respond to the department’s request by Oct. 17.

What else has happened in the case? Centreville High School teacher Zenaida Perez said she faced workplace retaliation and harassment after she shared her students’ allegations with school staff. After the claims became public, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin directed the Virginia State Police to open a criminal investigation. Meanwhile, Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., sent a letter to the district with questions about whether FCPS investigated the claims and how the schools communicate with parents about student pregnancies. He demanded answers from school leadership by Oct. 6.

Dig deeper: Read Elizabeth Russell’s initial report about the students’ allegations.