Adobe Stock
Officials in Virginia’s Fairfax County Public School (FCPS) system have reportedly known since May about allegations that a high school social worker facilitated and paid for a student’s abortion, despite stating that they learned of the claims only last week.
Walter Curt, the journalist who investigated the allegations and reported his findings on Substack last week, wrote in a second report that Zenaida Perez, a teacher at Centreville High School whose student told her about being pressured by the social worker to have an abortion, alerted school officials to the situation in May.
As CatholicVote previously reported, the social worker, Carolina Díaz, allegedly facilitated an abortion in November 2021 for a student who was then 17, without telling the girl’s family. Under Virginia law, at least one parent must be notified before an abortion can be performed for a minor.
In another instance, Díaz allegedly procured a second abortion appointment for another pregnant minor student, but the girl ultimately chose to walk out of the appointment rather than go through with the abortion. Her family also was not notified. According to Curt’s initial report, the second girl told Perez about the incident.
According to Curt’s second report, Perez met with FCPS investigator James Mackie May 2, 2025, and told him about the girls’ situations. An audio recording from the meeting, which Curt obtained, reveals that Perez met with Chad Lehman, who used to be a principal at the school, and another school official in 2022, telling them that Díaz had illegally procured abortions for minors. Perez also sent Lehman an email with the details of the situation, she stated in the recording.
According to the audio recording, Perez claimed that Lehman did nothing about the abortion allegations and denied having a conversation with her.
Curt also obtained an Aug. 7 letter FCPS Superintendent Michelle Reid sent to staff and families in the school system. In the letter, Reid claimed that school officials learned about the allegations only a few days earlier.
“I want to stress that at no time, would the situation as described in these allegations be acceptable in Fairfax County Public Schools,” she wrote.
However, Curt pointed out that Perez’s meeting with Mackie destroys the district’s claims that it was previously unaware of the situation.
“FCPS has claimed to be responding with urgency after ‘learning’ of the allegations last week, but the documented meeting in May shows, definitively, they have been aware for months,” Curt reported.
He added that the district has not taken action since Perez’s repeated attempts to bring the situation to officials’ attention.
“Only after the story went public — drawing national outrage — did the district announce an ‘external independent investigation’ and promise transparency,” Curt reported. “In reality, this is not the sound of swift accountability; it is the reflexive scramble of a bureaucracy desperate to contain the damage.”
FCPS told CatholicVote via email that it was not able to comment on the situation “as this is an ongoing personnel matter.”
“FCPS has engaged an independent, external legal investigator to fully follow the facts of the 2021 allegations,” the district stated. “Once the facts are established, we will take swift and appropriate action. We are committed to sharing our key findings as soon as we are able.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
