Pregnant Students/Title IX Guidelines

Title IX provides for equal educational opportunities for pregnant students. It prohibits educational institutions from discriminating against students based on pregnancy, childbirth, false pregnancy, termination of pregnancy, or recovery from any of these conditions. Every institution that receives federal financial assistance is bound by Title IX.

 US Department of Education Link: Know Your Rights

As with any student with a medical condition and following policies of the Gordon State Office of Accessibility Services, a pregnant student is required to self-identify and register their pregnancy or pregnancy issue with the Office of Accessibility Services. Pregnant students will be required to produce medical documentation for verification before any academic assistance is considered and/or granted.

Instructors are advised to refer any student seeking any special considerations related to pregnancy to the Accessibility Services Office. A student should not be assumed to be pregnant, even if it appears obvious. Pregnant students seeking special considerations related to their pregnancy must provide appropriate documentation of the pregnancy to the Accessibility Services office.  The documentation will be reviewed in the same manner as any documentation provided by a student with a temporary medical condition. The Accessibility Services office will notify the Dean of Students, the necessary Dean of School and the instructor when a student has provided the appropriate documentation to be eligible for the special services afforded to them by Title IX. Questions from instructors regarding the rights of the student under Title IX will be redirected to the Dean of the appropriate department and/or Title IX Coordinator.

The US Department of Education and Office of Civil Rights released new Title IX requirements regarding pregnant students in June 2013.

The requirements and suggestions include:

• Schools must excuse student absences because of pregnancy or childbirth for as long as the student’s doctor deems the absences medically necessary.

• Policies regarding absences in class must accommodate pregnancy or childbirth related absences and allow for make-up work. “An instructor may not refuse to allow a student to submit work after a deadline that she missed because of absences due to pregnancy or childbirth. Additionally, if the instructor’s grading is based in part on class attendance or participation, the student should be allowed to earn the credits she missed so that she can be reinstated to the status she had before leave.” The institution may offer the student alternatives to making up missed work, such as retaking a semester, taking part in line course credit recovery program, or allowing the student additional time in a program to continue at the same pace and finish at a later date, especially after a longer period of leave.

Harassment

Gordon State College does not and will not tolerate harassment of any form. Gordon State College will take prompt and effective steps to address and end any pregnancy-related harassment, will work to prevent any reccurrence of harassment, and will eliminate any hostile environment created by the harassment. Title IX stipulate that sexual harassment or pregnancy related harassment is a violation of Title IX, whether committed by employees, students, or third parties. Any harassment that interferes with a student’s ability to benefit or participate in a college course or program will not be tolerated and will be addressed. This includes situations where harassment has been encouraged, tolerated, not adequately addressed, or ignored by faculty or staff employed at Gordon State College.

Student Responsibilities

Any student seeking course accommodation or allowances related to pregnancy issue must:

1. Self-identify and provide appropriate documentation of the pregnancy to the Accessibility Services Office. To be clear, self-identifying to an instructor without following procedures set forth regarding providing appropriate documentation to the Accessibility Service Office does not protect a student’s rights.
2. Students are required to review the Student Pregnancy Procedure and request special considerations related to a pregnancy issue from the Accessibility Services Office.
3. Request documentation from physician. Documentation must be from a licensed physician; the documentation must be on the physician’s official letterhead (not on a prescription pad), and must have a stated diagnosis of pregnancy, or a pregnancy related issue due to pregnancy, in the last six months. The physician’s signature and license number must be included in the documentation. The documentation must include an expected due date.

Faculty/Instructor Responsibilities

1. Any student requesting special considerations related to a pregnancy or pregnancy issue should be referred to the Accessibility Services Office.
2. Only students who have been verified by Accessibility Services as eligible for special considerations due to pregnancy under Title IX should be given any consideration.
3. Have a discussion with the student regarding the considerations that they are seeking related to their pregnancy and how that will impact them in class.
4. Discuss the expectations that you have of the student on the special considerations. For example, if a student is given any special consideration with attendance due to morning sickness, then how should that student contact you to make you aware that they are going to be absent? If a student is absent, how will they get access to the material that was missed due to their absence?
5. Instructors with questions about the special considerations that students are eligible for related to their pregnancy may consult with the appropriate Dean of their department or the Dean of Students. Title IX requires that the instructor excuse a student’s absences due to pregnancy or related conditions, including recovery from childbirth, with medical approval. The instructor may offer the student alternatives to making up missed work, such as retaking a course, taking part in an online course (if available), or allowing the student additional time in a program to continue at the same pace and finish at a later date, especially after longer periods of absence. The student should be allowed to choose how to make up the work.
6. Instructors who have their own individual policies regarding class attendance and make-up work must ensure that their policies do not conflict with the student’s rights as outlined in Title IX. An instructor’s policies may be more lenient than those outlined in Title IX, but they may not be more restrictive. For example, an instructor may not refuse to allow a student to submit work after a deadline that she missed because of absences related to pregnancy or childbirth. Additionally, if an instructor’s grading is based in part on class attendance or participation, the student should be allowed to earn the credits she missed so that her academic standing in the course is not impacted.

All faculty and instructors will be made aware of the Title IX procedures related to pregnancy and advised not to discriminate against pregnant students or students with pregnancy issues.

Students who feel that their instructor has discriminated against them due to pregnancy or a pregnancy related issue should follow the posted Grievance Procedure.