Pregnant or Parenting Students

Implementing Regulations 

On January 9, 2025, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky issued a decision vacating the 2024 Title IX Rule, which prohibited the United States Department of Education from enforcing it in any jurisdiction. On Feb 4, 2025, the United States Department of Education issued a Dear Colleague Letter clarifying that the United States Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) will enforce Title IX under the provisions of the 2020 Title IX Regulations, rather than the recently invalidated 2024 Title IX Regulations.

Discrimination Based on Pregnancy and Related Conditions

Since 1975, all Title IX Regulations, including the 2020 Title IX Regulations, have protected students and employees from discrimination on the basis of “pregnancy, childbirth, false pregnancy, termination of pregnancy, or recovery therefrom.” Title IX also prohibits schools from applying any rule related to a student’s parental, family, or marital status that treats students differently based on their sex.  

Rights of Students Under the 2020 Regulations

The 2020 Title IX Regulations state that recipients of federal funds "shall not apply any rule concerning a student's actual or potential parental, family or marital status which treats students differently on the basis of sex... [and] shall not discriminate against any student, or exclude any student from its education programs or activity, including any class or extracurricular activity, on the basis of such student's pregnancy, childbirth, false pregnancy, termination of pregnancy or recovery therefrom, unless the student requests voluntarily to participate in a separate portion of the program or activity of the recipient."

Medical and Other Benefits and Services

Under the 2020 Title IX Regulations, schools and districts must treat pregnancy, childbirth, false pregnancy, termination of pregnancy, and recovery therefrom the same as any other temporary disability with respect to any hospital or medical benefit, service, plan, or policy for students.

Medical Leave

If a school/district does not have a leave policy for its students, or if a student does not qualify for leave under the current policy, the school/district shall treat pregnancy, childbirth, false pregnancy, termination of pregnancy and recovery therefrom as a justification for a leave of absence for as long a period of time as is deemed medically necessary by the student's physician.  After the student returns, the student shall be reinstated to the status which she held when the leave began.

Adjustments

To ensure a pregnant student’s access to its educational program, when necessary, a school must make adjustments to the regular program that are reasonable and responsive to the student’s temporary pregnancy status. Schools/districts are required to provide the same special services to pregnant students provided to students with temporary medical conditions.  For example, a school might be required to provide a larger desk, allow frequent trips to the bathroom, or permit temporary access to elevators.

For more information from the U.S. Department of Education, see:

• October 2022 Discrimination Based on Pregnancy and Related Conditions, A Resource for Students and Schools
• Supporting the Academic Success of Pregnant and Parenting Students, Revised June 2013
• June 25, 2013 Dear Colleague Letter
• Know Your Rights:  Pregnant or Parenting?  Title IX Protects You From Discrimination at School

How to File a Complaint

Title IX complaints should be filed with the individual school or district. However, a complaint may also be filed with the U.S. Office for Civil Rights.

• U.S. Office for Civil Rights Webinar on How to File a Complaint with the Office for Civil Rights
• U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights Case Processing Manual, Feb 2025

The Office for Civil Rights also offers mediation services.  Just select “mediation” on the Office for Civil Rights Complaint Form.

Anti-Retaliation Provision

It is unlawful to retaliate against individuals, including Title IX Coordinators, for:

• Filing a Title IX complaint
• Participating in a Title IX investigation, hearing or proceeding
• Advocating for others’ Title IX rights

On December 10, 2024, the United States Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) released a new resource, Civil Rights Protections Against Retaliation, that explains the key elements of retaliation, outlines how OCR assesses retaliation claims, and provides examples that, depending on the facts and circumstances, could raise concerns of unlawful retaliation.

Federal civil rights laws offer protection for people, including students, siblings, parents, guardians, teachers, counselors, coaches, or third parties advocating for the rights of students, who exercise their civil rights, oppose discrimination, report discrimination, or participate in civil rights investigations or proceedings. Retaliation may take the form of intimidation, threats, coercion, or another adverse action that would deter a reasonable person from exercising civil rights protected under the laws OCR enforces and occurs when a person is discriminated against for taking actions that are protected by civil rights laws. 

For more information, visit OCR’s Retaliation webpage.