Today, the U.S. Department of Education announced it initiated an enforcement action against Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) after reports that a social worker appointment for a 17-year-old student, paid the required clinic fees, and swore the girl to secrecy without informing the student’s parents and a second student was allegedly pressured by the social worker to have an abortion.
The U.S. Department of Education’s Student Privacy Policy Office (SPPO) is bringing the enforcement action against FCPS under the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA). The U.S. Department of Education said that under PPRA’s requirements, schools must notify parents of an invasive physical examination and allow parents to opt their children out of such a procedure.
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“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. 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,” said U.S. Department of Education’s Acting General Counsel Candice Jackson. “The will not stand by idly as these abuses unfold in our schools. We will take swift and decisive action to put an end to this and restore parental authority, which stems from their ultimate responsibility for their children’s wellbeing.”
According to the U.S. Department of Education, to determine whether these practices continue today, SPPO is requiring Fairfax to investigate this matter and provide a written response by Oct. 17, including:
A copy of Fairfax’s general notice to parents notifying them of their rights under PPRA during the 2021-22 through 2025-26 school years;
A copy of any policies or procedures in effect during the 2021-22 through 2025-26 school years that relate to non-emergency, invasive physical examinations or screening, and how parents were consulted in the development of such policies and procedures;
Documentation of any communications, directives, or training materials provided to school staff regarding the handling of sensitive medical services, including abortion-related referrals or procedures;
Any records related to the alleged incidents of school personnel facilitating the provision of abortion services to minors; and
A statement explaining whether any U.S. Department of Education funds were used, in whole or in part, in connection with the sensitive medical services, including abortion-related referrals or procedures.
In August, FCPS told 7News Reporter Nick Minock that they were launching an investigation into claims that school staff arranged abortions for students and didn’t tell their parents.
“We are launching an immediate and comprehensive investigation as we take all concerns of student wellbeing very seriously,” FCPS told 7News at the time.
In August, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin into alleged school-funded abortions in Fairfax County.
“I am deeply concerned with the allegations that Fairfax County Public Schools officials arranged for minors to get abortions without parental consent and may have misused public funds to pay for them,” said Gov. Glenn Youngkin. “I am directing the Virginia State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation to open a full criminal investigation into the matter immediately.”