Title IX - Pregnant and Parenting Students

General Guidelines

Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 protects people from discrimination based on sex in education programs and activities, this includes pregnancy and parental status. Schools must excuse a student’s absences because of pregnancy or childbirth for as long as the student’s doctor deems the absences medically necessary.

Absence policies in classes must accommodate pregnancy or childbirth-related absences and allow for make-up work. “A teacher may not refuse to allow a student to submit work after a deadline that they missed because of absences due to pregnancy or childbirth. Additionally, if a teacher’s grading is based in part on class attendance or participation, the student should be allowed to earn the credits they missed, so that they can be reinstated to the status they had before the leave.”

Student Rights

• The right to equal access to schools and activities
• The right to be excused for absences due to pregnancy or childbirth for as long as is deemed medically necessary by the student’s physician
• The right to resume learning where they left off due to pregnancy-related absences
• The right to attend class and school activities without submitting a doctor’s note

Student Accommodations

Although pregnancy itself is not a disability, pregnancy-related impairments may qualify as disabilities under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Accommodations include, but are not limited to:

• Excused or extended absences related to medical appointments and/or symptoms or illness related to pregnancy.
• Excused absences up to 6 weeks or longer per doctor’s recommendations
• Time/location for breast-pumping
• Extended coursework deadlines
• Incompletes/Withdrawals
• Remote learning options
• Environmental accommodations (e.g., accessible seating)
• Health/safety precautions
• Breaks to attend to pregnancy-related needs

Accommodations may also apply to non-birthing parents who are adjusting their academic responsibilities due to the birth of a child, an adoption, or placement of a foster child during the three-month period after the child enters the home.