The teacher at the center of an investigation into whether a Centreville High school student was assisted with an abortion by a school social worker filed a lawsuit against Fairfax County Public Schools.
The teacher revealed her allegations first to a conservative blogger and then to News4 in August.
Now, the teacher has filed a defamation lawsuit after a law firm hired by FCPS reported her claims were “likely false and fabricated.”
Veteran ESOL teacher Zenaida Perez stood along with her attorneys and an organization called Americans United for Life outside the Fairfax County courthouse.
The lawsuit on her behalf filed against FCPS, Superintendent Michelle Reid and several administrators asserts that Perez was defamed when a law firm hired by the school district concluded her allegations were likely untrue.
The report — a response to a U.S. Department of Justice enforcement notice — also accuses Perez of gathering false statements from students to support her allegations.
“I felt retaliated against,” Perez said. “I was absolutely slandered, and they told a lot of things in the media that were absolutely not true, and we will come out with the truth, and we will prevail with honesty.”
Perez made her allegations public and detailed them for News4 back in August — chief among them that in May 2022, a 17-year-old student told her a school social worker helped her get an abortion and paid for it. Perez also said the girl’s guardian was not notified.
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