(Washington, D.C.): The U.S. Department of Education (DoE) has announced the initiation of enforcement action against Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) stemming from Americans United for Life (AUL) client Mrs. Zenaida Perez, an ESOL teacher at Centreville High School. Mrs. Perez noted having faced retaliation and discrimination by her employer for bringing to light reports of a school social worker facilitating and financing abortion for minors without parental consent and notification as required by Virginia law.
The DoE has given FCPS a deadline of October 17th to fully investigate our client’s numerous reports of illegal abortions and provide documentation that federal law and regulation was followed, including an explanation regarding whether DoE funds were used to facilitate these procedures.
“Americans United for Life is grateful for the full attention of the Department of Education as they help investigate our client’s allegations,” Steven Aden, Chief Legal Officer and General Counsel for AUL, stated. “Federal protections against taxpayer dollars being used for abortion apply even to education spending. If agency funds were, in fact, used to procure these illegal abortions, this constitutes a violation of statutory taxpayer conscientious protections, which the Department of Education strives to rightly protect.”
Sarah Zagorski, Senior Director of Public Relations and Communications, added, “The allegations against Fairfax County Public Schools represent an egregious bureaucratic overreach, placing politics of public education officials over the rights of parents to direct their children in major medical and social decisions. The Department of Education is rightfully fulfilling its role of preventing this overreach and ensuring the public can trust their education systems.”
Read the full DoE press release here.
For more information or to arrange an interview with AUL, contact Gavin Oxley at press@aul.org or 202-987-3321.
Since 1971, Americans United for Life (AUL) has advanced the human right to life in culture, law, and policy by equipping advocates and lawmakers with the facts and strategies that change hearts and minds and protect human life. The first national pro-life organization in the country, AUL is a nonprofit, public-interest law and policy organization with a four-star rating from Charity Navigator.
