The U.S. Department of Education (DOE) took enforcement action against Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) Sept. 29 over reports that school officials facilitated and covered up a student’s abortion without informing the minor’s parents.
According to a news release, the department’s Student Privacy Policy Office (SPPO) is enforcing the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA), which requires schools to give parents notice of an “invasive physical examination” and provide them with the opportunity to opt their child out.
As Zeale previously reported, reports this summer claimed that a social worker at Centreville High School in the FCPS district scheduled and paid for the student’s abortion in November 2021. Neither of her parents were informed, violating Virginia law, which requires at least one parent to be notified.
According to the reports, the same social worker also tried to coerce another pregnant student, also a minor, to have an abortion; however, the second student did not go through with the abortion.
Further investigations revealed that a teacher says she repeatedly brought the abortion and coercion to the attention of school administrators and school district officials, but her concerns were brushed off. The teacher also says that administrators took steps to silence her and retaliate against her, such as looking for ways to fire her or attempting to have students bait her into committing minor policy violations.
Candice Jackson, the DOE’s acting general counsel, stated in the release, “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.”
“Children do not belong to the government — decisions touching deeply held values should be made within loving families,” she added. “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.”
SPPO’s actions to enforce PPRA include requiring the school district to investigate the abortion claims and provide a report by Oct. 14. To comply with SPPO, FCPS must issue a general notice to parents informing them of their rights under PPRA during the 2021-22 school year through the current school year; provide SPPO with copies of procedures or policies that were in effect during the same time frame relating to “non-emergency, invasive physical examinations or screening”; and explain how parents were consulted while the procedures and policies were being developed.
In addition, FCPS must also provide documentation of “communications, directives, or training materials provided to school staff regarding the handling of sensitive medical services,” including matters related to abortions, and turn over records related to school officials’ facilitation of the abortion. The district is also required to make a statement that explains whether funds from the DOE were used, “in whole or in part, in connection with the sensitive medical services, including abortion-related referrals or procedures.”