What are my rights as a parenting or expecting student?

Title IX prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex—including pregnancy and parental status—in educational programs and activities that receive Federal financial assistance from the Department of Education. The term pregnancy is used to include childbirth, false pregnancy, termination of pregnancy, or recovery from any of these conditions. 

With regards to supporting pregnant students, institutions are required under Title IX to:

• Excuse a student’s absences because of pregnancy or childbirth for as long as deemed medically necessary.
• Afford the same protections to pregnant students as students who have temporary medical conditions.
• Make reasonable and responsive adjustments.
• Allow a student to continue participating in classes and extracurricular activities.
• Allow a student to return from their leave to the same academic status as before their leave.
• Offer options for making up the work missed and allow the student to decide.

Learn more about your rights from the U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights

Contact
Megan Staudenraus, M.S. (she/they)
Title IX Investigator Manager
Institutional Equity, Diversity, and Justice
(626) 585-7375
titleix@pasadena.edu