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A legal challenge alleging that a Fairfax County Public Schools employee helped minors get abortions without their parents鈥� consent is now in federal court in a case that hinges on a First Amendment free speech claim.
FCPS teacher Zenaida Perez, plaintiff in the case, is seeking to prove that school officials have defamed her and are in violation of the聽.听 Perez alleged in 2025 that another FCPS staff member assisted minors with seeking abortions. FCPS鈥櫬犅爎efuted her claims.
础听聽from superintendent Michelle Reid claimed that Perez鈥� allegations are 鈥渂ased largely on statements that were misinterpreted, mistranslated, taken out of context, or in some cases knowingly fabricated.鈥�
A Virginia State Police investigation, launched late last summer by the order of former Gov. Glenn Youngkin, remains active as of January 2026. The school system has also submitted materials to members of Congress for a federal inquiry.
She said, they said
Ahead of Virginia鈥檚 gubernatorial and House of Delegates elections last fall, Pereza fellow school staff member of assisting students in obtaining abortions and the matter quickly became a聽.
聽allows minors to get abortions only if their parents or guardians agree to it or a minor successfully petitions a court. Such petitions are also exempt from the Freedom of Information Act, so it鈥檚 unclear how the students Perez purported to have gotten abortions would have obtained them.
While the public airing of the allegation and subsequent lawsuit came to light in recent months, Perez had first tried to report matters to Centreville High School administration in 2021 and 2022, the lawsuit revealed.
In August 2025, conservative blog聽聽and a note allegedly written by a student who鈥檇 been assisted in getting an abortion.
鈥淚 was afraid my family would react poorly if they knew about my pregnancy so I sought the abortion,鈥� the note, translated from Spanish, reads in the court filing.
A previous internal review by FCPS indicated聽聽in the student鈥檚 letter and Perez鈥� own; she then admitted that she was the one who actually wrote it.
鈥�(The student) didn鈥檛 write it, she was absolutely not well with the writing 鈥� she cannot write in English or in Spanish 鈥� and she told me she 鈥榦nly had 15 minutes for my break,鈥欌�� Perez said in an Americans United For Life webinar late last year. Perez added she had written the letter based on the student鈥檚 dictation while the student was working at a restaurant in Chantilly.
Attorneys from Americans United For Life, the anti-abortion group that hosted the webinar, are representing Perez in her case.
鈥淎UL has filed an amended complaint on behalf of Mrs. Perez, and we are expecting a renewed motion to dismiss the case from Fairfax County鈥檚 lawyers,鈥� AUL spokesman Gavin Oxley said Friday.
Perez鈥� petition to court
The filing noted the school officials鈥� alleged retaliation has a 鈥渓ifelong impact鈥� on Perez emotionally, and added that the defendants鈥� claims will 鈥渂e a stain on her record forever and these allegations may resurface for any teaching position that she may seek in the future.鈥�
The school system remains steadfast in refuting Perez鈥檚 claims.
FCPS鈥� own review uncovered 鈥渘o credible evidence鈥� supporting Perez鈥檚 allegations. This was relayed in聽聽the school system sent to the U.S. Senate committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions.
The supplemental statement read that FCPS 鈥渞emains open to receiving and reviewing any new, pertinent information that may become available鈥� but concluded that聽 further investigation isn鈥檛 necessary at this time.
The statement also accused Perez of withholding additional evidence when the Centreville High principal聽 initially looked into the alleged student abortions Perez reported to him in 2022.
鈥淲hile she has claimed to possess evidence of serious criminal wrongdoing occurring within the school and impacting students from vulnerable backgrounds, Mrs. Perez nonetheless waited nearly three years before surfacing the 鈥榚vidence鈥� she had privately collected, choosing to do so through a sensational social media story she collaborated in producing, which contained numerous unfounded allegations,鈥� the statement read.
Perez, whose case was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia in the Alexandria division, is seeking a trial by jury and to be awarded $2 million.
AUL spokesman Oxley told The Mercury that the organization and their client are 鈥渓ooking forward鈥� to 鈥減rosecuting the case as far as necessary.鈥�
