The U.S. Department of Education is launching an investigation in Virginia’s largest school division over allegations a school social worker scheduled an abortion appointment for a student and didn’t tell the student’s parents.
In a news release, the agency said it has initiated enforcement action against Fairfax County Public Schools and is seeking additional information by mid-October. If the school system doesn’t provide it, they could risk losing federal funding, the agency said.
The step comes weeks after reports that a Centreville High School social worker allegedly scheduled an abortion for a student during the 2021-22 school year, paid the clinic fee and didn’t tell the student’s parents. The release said the social worker reportedly pressured a second student into having an abortion.
The action, the Education Department said, could violate the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment. That amendment requires schools to tell parents about invasive physical examinations and gives parents the chance to opt their child out of them.
Fairfax County Public Schools emailed a statement to WTOP in response to the Education Department’s announcement of its investigation.
FCPS has received the latest Department of Education (DOE) letter requesting information, and welcomes the opportunity to answer the DOE’s questions, based on our ongoing review of these 2021 allegations. We want to reiterate that such conduct would be completely unacceptable in Fairfax County Public Schools. Although there is also an ongoing state police investigation, we are committed to cooperating, to the fullest extent possible, with the DOE’s inquiry. FCPS remains focused on our commitment to academic excellence and opportunity for each and every student in a safe and welcoming environment.
The announcement comes as the school system is also engaged in a legal battle with the federal agency over bathroom policies.
“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 Education Department’s acting general counsel.
“Children do not belong to the government — decisions touching deeply held values should be made within loving families. It is both morally unconscionable and patently illegal for school officials to keep parents in the dark about such intimate, life-altering procedures pertaining to their children,” Jackson said.
The department is requesting a specific set of information by Oct. 17. The request includes the county’s notice to parents telling them about their rights under the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment, and a statement indicating whether federal funds were used in connection with sensitive medical services, including abortion-related procedures.
Separately, the federal agency had threatened to withhold funding to five Northern Virginia school systems, including Fairfax County, if they didn’t change their bathroom policies. The department said policies that allow students to use intimate facilities based on gender identity violate Title IX.
Several of those school districts have taken legal action to prevent funds from being frozen.
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