Pregnant and Parenting Students: An Examination of Title IX and Attendance Policies in the Midwest

• In Event: 16.060 - Roundtable Session 3
  In Roundtable Session: 16.060-1 - Academic Inclusion or Exclusion? Examining Research on School Laws and Policies Affecting At-Risk Students

Abstract

Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 prohibits discrimination based on sex in federally funded programs. Title IX covers students that are pregnant or parenting, however some school districts still discriminate and prohibit these students from school activities. In 2013, The United States Department of Education Office of Civil Rights (OCR) released a guidance document regarding supporting the academic achievement of pregnant and parenting students. One of the strategies involved developing policies and procedures for excused absences. A 2012 report found that only six states’ had policies that specifically addressed the excused absences of these students. This paper provides the results of an analysis of midwestern states school policies and the policies of the large school districts within those states.

Author

• Tiffany Puckett, Illinois State University