Pregnancy and Parenting Students

Information and resources for pregnant and parenting students including absences, rights, and accommodations.

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.

Students seeking assistance should contact the Office of Student Assistance and Support.

General guidelines

Title IX

Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex—including pregnancy and parental status—in educational programs and activities.

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.”

“A school may offer the student alternatives to making up missed work, such as retaking a semester, taking part in an online course credit recovery program, or allow the student additional time in a program to continue at the same pace and finish at a later date, especially after longer periods of leave. The student should be allowed to choose how to make up the work.”

Department of Education official guidance (pdf)

Rights and Accommodations

Student Rights

The right to equal access to schools and activities.
The right to choose to participate in separate programs for pregnant or parenting students, not be required by the University.
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 attend class and school activities without submitting a doctor’s note.

Student Accommodations

These may include, but are not limited to those listed:

Excused or extended absences related to medical appointments and/or illness related to pregnancy
Extended coursework deadlines
Incompletes
Back-dated withdrawals
Elevator keys
Parking permits

Additional Resources and Reporting

Pregnancy related impairments

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

Examples include pregnancy-related carpal tunnel syndrome, gestational diabetes, pregnancy-related sciatica, and preeclampsia.

Students experiencing such impairments may contact the McBurney Disability Resource Center.

McBurney Disability Resource Center

Discrimination, Harassment, or Bias Concerns

Conduct that adversely affects any aspect of an individual’s employment, education, or participation in an institution’s activities or programs, or has the effect of denying equal privileges or treatment to an individual on the basis of one more characteristics of that individual’s protected status or category.

Submit Online Reporting Form