Pregnancy and Parenting: Frequently Asked Questions

Below are some frequently asked questions and their answers about the college’s compliance with this aspect of Title IX.

Students or employees with additional questions should contact the Title IX coordinator.

• When can an individual seek assistance for pregnancy-related accommodations?

  Pregnant individuals may contact the Title IX coordinator to request assistance with accommodations. Examples of accommodations include, but are not limited to, rescheduling tests or exams, excusing absences, submitting work after a deadline, providing alternatives to make up missed work, or retaking a semester. The Title IX coordinator may facilitate communications with a student’s professors, an employee's supervisor, or assist with other college resources.

• Pregnancy, childbirth, and related conditions. may necessitate absences. Will those absences be excused?

  Yes. Absences due to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions must be excused and cannot be treated or penalized like unexcused absences.

  Depending on the length of the absence or work area, it may be academically necessary for a student or employee to take a leave of absence.

  Professors and supervisors must provide a leave of absence for pregnant students for as long as it is deemed necessary by their medical doctor. SMC may require a doctor’s note for pregnancy-related absences only if a doctor’s note is required to excuse other medically-related absences.

• What happens when a pregnant student misses assignments, tests, exams, etc., due to an excused absence?

  After an excused absence due to pregnancy, childbirth, or any related medical conditions, professors must allow a reasonable time for the student to make up missed assignments and tests.

  This is true regardless of the professor’s typical makeup assignment policy. Depending on the nature of the course, making up the exact missed assignment might not be feasible. The makeup work does not have to be exactly the same as the missed work, but needs to be reasonably equivalent.

• Can pregnant students be penalized for their absence if grades in a class are based on attendance or participation?

  A student may not be penalized for absences known to be due to pregnancy, childbirth, or other related medical conditions. A professor cannot reduce a pregnant student’s grade because of attendance or participation points that the student missed during excused absences due to pregnancy-related conditions. The professor must give the student a reasonable opportunity to earn back the credit missed due to pregnancy. 

• Can a professor prevent a pregnant student from attending class?

  No. Under Title IX, the college cannot exclude someone from class based on their pregnancy.

  The college can, however, require a pregnant student to provide a doctor’s certification of fitness to continue in an education program or activity if the same requirement is imposed on all other students with medical conditions requiring a doctor’s care.

• Can pregnant students participate in internships and other off-campus programs?

  Yes. Pregnant students cannot be excluded from college-related off-campus programs, such as internships, off-campus activities, college-sponsored activities, and other extracurricular activities. A professor cannot require a doctor’s note to show fitness to participate unless it is required for all students in the program.

• Does the college have to provide special services to pregnant students or employees?

  The college is required to provide the same services to pregnant students or employees that it provides to others with temporary disabilities.

• What if a student, professor, or staff member makes an offensive or inappropriate remark about an individual's pregnancy?

  The college does not tolerate gender-based harassment, including harassment based on pregnancy and related conditions. If a pregnant individual experiences harassment based on their pregnancy, they should let the Title IX coordinator know immediately.

  If a faculty or staff member witnesses or learns about harassment of a pregnant individual, they should immediately notify the Title IX coordinator, so that it can take prompt and effective steps reasonably calculated to end pregnancy-related harassment, prevent its recurrence, and eliminate any hostile environment created by the harassment. 

  Title IX prohibits a school’s retaliation against an individual for filing a complaint or raising concerns about the rights of a pregnant and parenting individual.

• Can a pregnant student lose their scholarship due to their pregnancy?

  As long as the student remains in school and in good standing when the student is not medically required to be absent because of the pregnancy, the student will not lose the scholarship.

  Pregnant students keep their status as a student for up to one year. If a student wants to take off more time than their doctor says is medically necessary, the student should contact the Title IX coordinator to discuss options related to withdrawing from class. 

• Does the college provide designated areas for students or employees to breastfeed, pump milk, or address other needs related to breastfeeding?

  The college will provide a place that is shielded from view and free from intrusion for nursing mothers to use to express breast milk.

  For more information, including where nursing mothers may take their break to express breast milk, please contact the Title IX coordinator.