A Senate committee and Virginia State Police have concluded their separate investigations into a Centreville High School teacher’s claims that school staff facilitated abortions without parental consent, Fairfax County Public Schools Superintendent Michelle Reid said this week.
“Neither investigation found any evidence of wrongdoing or any need for further action,” Reid wrote in a letter to the school’s staff and families. “This situation has had a significant impact on all of those involved, and it reminds us of the responsibility we all share to act thoughtfully, with integrity, and compassionately as a caring, connected community.”
State police had launched the investigation last August at the direction of then-Gov. Glenn Youngkin after teacher Zenaida Perez publicly alleged that a Centreville High School social worker had urged two students, who were minors, to obtain abortions without the consent of their parents or guardians — in violation of Virginia law — using school funds.
The Senate Health, Education, and Labor (HELP) Committee also launched an investigation in September, while the U.S. Department of Education ordered FCPS to conduct an investigation into Perez’s claims and provide information by Oct. 17.
In 2025, Perez alleged that staff had helped the students, who were minors, obtain abortions without the consent of their parents or guardians—in violation of Virginia law—using school funds. Out of the two minors who were reportedly approached by staff, one allegedly had the procedure; the other did not. Perez said she reported the incidents to a school administrator, but was ignored.
FCPS conducted an internal probe, led by the law firm King & Spalding, that “found no credible evidence of any actual wrongdoing by school staff or administrators,” Reid noted in the letter.
An initial report released in October said Perez’s claims appeared to have been fabricated after the school investigated her for allegedly offering to buy a student a pregnancy test in May 2022. The social worker at the center of her claims had served as a witness in the 2022 review.
When asked for comment on Reid’s announcement, Steven Aden, co-counsel for Perez and chief legal officer and general counsel for Americans United for Life, said:
“While we’re obviously disappointed that these investigations have concluded without holding Fairfax County Public Schools and its employees accountable, Mrs. Perez has appealed the dismissal of her lawsuit against Fairfax County Public School officials to the federal court of appeals in Richmond, and we look forward to seeing her case vindicated there.”
While Perez filed a federal lawsuit against FCPS in February, alleging retaliation and violations of whistleblower protection laws, a federal judge dismissed it in May, citing lack of evidence that her rights were violated. The notice of appeal on several counts was filed earlier this month.
