Chair Cassidy Demands Answers on Fairfax County School Officials Allegedly Coercing Children to Get Abortions Against Their Will

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, is demanding answers following allegations that school officials at Fairfax County's Centreville High School illegally arranged and paid for an abortion for a minor student and attempted to do the same for another student, without notifying their parents. Both young girls said that a school social worker pressured them into having abortions and told one of the girls that she "had no other choice."

It is also alleged that taxpayer dollars may have been used to facilitate the abortions, a clear violation of federal law. As Chairman of the HELP Committee, Cassidy is investigating these serious allegations to ensure Americans' tax dollars were not illegally used to pressure young students into having abortions.

"Let there be no mistake: a school official pressuring minor students to obtain covert abortions using school funding is illegal...," wrote Dr. Cassidy. "If these reports are true, they represent a betrayal of Fairfax County parents and families and warrant comprehensive oversight by the HELP Committee to determine how this could have occurred and who must be held accountable."

Read the full letter here or below:

Dr. Reid:

I am writing to request information regarding the stunning allegations that school officials at Fairfax County's Centreville High School arranged and paid for abortions for a minor student and attempted to do the same for another student, all without parental consent. As Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), I am committed to ensuring parents are empowered with timely access to information necessary to protect their children from the threat of serious harm. If these reports are true, they represent a betrayal of Fairfax County parents and families and warrant comprehensive oversight by the HELP Committee to determine how this could have occurred and who must be held accountable.

On August 5, 2025, it was reported that, in 2021, a school social worker at Centreville High School "arranged and bankrolled abortions at Fairfax Healthcare Center without so much as a phone call to [the girls'] parents."1 One 17-year-old girl ultimately had an abortion, while another student who was five months pregnant fled from the abortion clinic in fear after being pressured to have an abortion.2 Both of these young girls allege that the school social worker, Carolina Diaz, pressured them into having abortions and told one of the girls that she "had no other choice."3 On top of the already horrific situation of a school official pressuring minor students to obtain abortions, it is alleged that school funds were used to pay for the abortion.4 Let there be no mistake: a school official pressuring minor students to obtain covert abortions using school funding is illegal and, if proven, requires concrete action by your school board to hold the perpetrators accountable.

I am also deeply concerned that Fairfax Country Public Schools (FCPS) seems to be concealing the fact that these allegations were brought to the school's attention years ago but ignored by school officials. Public reporting states that a Centreville High School teacher, Zenaida Perez, claims to have notified school officials about the abortions seven separate times since May 2022, only to be ignored and then retaliated against for blowing the whistle on this conduct.5 However, in an email to Centreville High School staff and families on August 7, 2025, you claim that the school board only learned about these allegations "earlier this week."6

On August 13, 2025, Governor Glenn Youngkin directed the Virginia State Police to open a criminal investigation into these allegations.7 In his announcement, he noted that "school funding may have been used [to fund the abortions], which could include local, state, and federal funds."8 FCPS receives about $50 million per year in financial aid from the federal government.9 Furthermore, the Hyde Amendment prohibits federal education funding to be used for any abortion.

As Chairman of the HELP Committee, I am determined to ensure that federal education funds are not being misused in violation of the law and parents' rights to protect their children. Given the seriousness of the allegations and the potential that federal funds were used by school officials to pressure minor students into receiving covert abortions without parental consent, it is imperative for the Committee to determine whether any federal funds were misused and whether the Hyde Amendment or other relevant laws were violated.

Accordingly, I ask that you answer the following questions, on a question-by-question basis, by October 6, 2025. All documents requested shall be produced in their entirety, without redactions, and electronically.

1. Please describe FCPS's reporting requirements when school officials, including teachers, staff, and other school employees, become aware that a student is pregnant. In your response, please detail the reporting structure and provide any school-issued guidance or policy documents.

a. Please describe what actions, if any, are taken in response to a school's awareness of a student's pregnancy.

2. Does FCPS require teachers, staff, and other school employees or officials to report student pregnancies to the school board?

a. If so, please detail the reporting process and provide any supporting documentation.

3. Does FCPS require teachers, staff, and other school employees or officials to notify a student's parent or legal guardian when a student reports that she is or may be pregnant?

a. If so, please detail the reporting process and provide any supporting documentation.

4. What are FCPS's policies on what teachers, staff, and other school employees or officials should tell a student when notified by that student that she is or may be pregnant? Please provide any related guidance or policy documents.

5. Does FCPS believe any school official should recommend that a minor student obtain an abortion?

6. Does FCPS believe that parents should be notified before a minor student is encouraged to obtain an abortion?

7. Did former Centreville High School Principal Chad Lehman ever notify FCPS officials about Zenaida Perez's allegations relating to school social worker Carolina Diaz pressuring students to have abortions? If so, when?

a. What actions, if any, did FCPS officials take in response to this notification?

8. Did FCPS ever initiate an independent investigation into these allegations or into Zenaida Perez's concerns before August 5, 2025?

a. If so, please detail the start date, scope, methodology, and findings of this investigation. Please also provide copies of any draft or final reports and statements.

9. What funds did Carolina Diaz have control over in her role as a social worker at the school?

a. Were any of these amounts federal funds? If so, what amount?

10. Please provide an accounting of the federal funds FCPS received beginning in FY 2020. In your response, please name the funding stream, dollar amount, and provide any supporting documentation.

11. How does FCPS ensure that federal funds it receives are not spent on illegal activities, such as facilitating abortions for minors?

12. Has FCPS received any other allegation, from any person, that a school employee recommended that any student obtain an abortion since 2010?

13. Has Zenaida Perez faced any formal or informal discipline by FCPS or Centreville High School stemming from her allegations or otherwise?

14. What mechanisms does FCPS have in place for school employees to report violations of state/federal law or other school policy without fear of punishment, retaliation, or harassment?

15. Please produce all documents created by FCPS or its designees associated with any school board policy relating to abortion since 2010.

16. Please produce all emails, text messages, and other written communication between FCPS officials relating to the aforementioned allegations of abortions being referred and paid for by Carolina Diaz.

Thank you for your timely response to this important matter.

###

For all news and updates from HELP Republicans, visit our websiteor Twitterat @GOPHELP