At the secondary level, a single parent, including single pregnant woman, means an individual who meets all of the following criteria:
• age 19 or below;
• without a high school diploma;
• unmarried or legally separated from their spouse;
• pregnant or has a minor child or children for which the parent has custody or joint custody.
Teen pregnancy is connected to a number of other issues that matter to communities: poverty, dropout rates and low graduation rates, increased reliance on social services, lower attainment of higher education, reduced military/deployment readiness, reduced lifelong earning potential, child abuse and domestic violence, and more. In all, teen pregnancy costs North Carolina taxpayers more than $325 million each year.
What Should Teachers Do?
As required by Title IX, assist pregnant and parenting students who have excused absences by providing them with make-up assignments and exams. As long as the absences are excused, schools should allow pregnant students to make up the work that they missed.
Encourage pregnant and parenting students to seek the assistance of school counselors who can provide the support needed to help the students remain in school.
Contact pregnant and parenting students who have dropped out of school and encourage them to return.
Request to participate in workshops, or to hear from speakers who can share information, on how to provide support to pregnant and parenting students, including addressing the challenges that they may face trying to juggle work, complete school, and care for their children.
Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (“Title IX”), 20 U.S.C. §1681 et seq., is a Federal civil rights law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex—including pregnancy and parental status—in educational programs and activities.
All public and private schools, school districts, colleges, and universities receiving any Federal funds (“schools”) must comply with Title IX.*
Here are some things you should know about the rights:
Classes and School Activities – your school MUST:
Allow pregnant students to continue participating in classes and extracurricular activities even though they are pregnant. This means that they can still participate in advanced placement and honors classes, school clubs, sports, honor societies, student leadership opportunities, and other activities, like after-school programs operated at the school.
Allow pregnant students to choose whether they want to participate in special instructional programs or classes for pregnant students. They can participate if they want to, but your school cannot pressure them to do so. The alternative program must provide the same types of academic, extracurricular and enrichment opportunities as your school’s regular program.
Allow pregnant students to participate in classes and extracurricular activities even though they are pregnant and not require them to submit a doctor’s note unless your school requires a doctor’s note from all students who have a physical or emotional condition requiring treatment by a doctor. Your school also must not require a doctor’s note from them after they have been hospitalized for childbirth unless it requires a doctor’s note from all students who have been hospitalized for other conditions.
Provide pregnant students with reasonable adjustments, like a larger desk, elevator access, or allowing them to make frequent trips to the restroom, when necessary because of their pregnancy.
Excused Absences and Medical Leave – your school MUST:
Excuse absences due to pregnancy or childbirth for as long as their doctor says it is necessary.
Allow student to return to the same academic and extracurricular status as before the medical leave began, which should include giving the student the opportunity to make up any work missed while they were out.
Ensure that teachers understand the Title IX requirements related to excused absences/medical leave. Teachers may not refuse to allow a student to submit work after a deadline they missed because of pregnancy or childbirth. If a teacher’s grading is based in part on class participation or attendance and a student missed class because of pregnancy or childbirth, they should be allowed to make up the participation or attendance credits they didn’t have the chance to earn.
Provide pregnant students with the same special services it provides to students with temporary medical conditions. This includes homebound instruction/at-home tutoring/independent study.
Harassment – your school MUST:
Protect students from harassment based on sex, including harassment because of pregnancy or related conditions. Comments that could constitute prohibited harassment include making sexual comments or jokes about a student's pregnancy, calling them sexually charged names, spreading rumors about their sexual activity, and making sexual propositions or gestures, if the comments are sufficiently serious that it interferes with the students ability to benefit from or participate in the school’s program.
Policies and Procedures – your school MUST:
Have and distribute a policy against sex discrimination. It is recommended that the policy make clear that prohibited sex discrimination covers discrimination against pregnant and parenting students.
Adopt and publish grievance procedures for students to file complaints of sex discrimination, including discrimination related to pregnancy or parental status.
Identify at least one employee in the school or school district to carry out its responsibilities under Title IX (sometimes called a “Title IX Coordinator”) and notify all students and employees of the name, title, and contact information of its Title IX Coordinator. These responsibilities include overseeing complaints of discrimination against pregnant and parenting students.