One option allows for the provision of 6 weeks wherein the student is relieved of academic or research responsibilities. Students with external funding sources are subject to their funders’ paid leave terms, however, the Graduate School will pay up to half of the student’s stipend during the leave term. The program may suspend requirements for class attendance, exams, other course-related requirements, lab work, or work toward the dissertation. The following are some examples of university policies that utilize all or some of our Key Principles for Creating a Model Policy. Moreover, including a broad caretaking policy reduces the backlash felt by new parents, and creates buy-in from varied populations. For example, if your institution provides bonding or family leave time to new mothers, it must do the same for fathers.

Programs

When drafting your policy, be careful to protect not only students experiencing pregnancy, but also related conditions, which are also covered by Title IX. Additionally, Title IX prohibits institutions from denying non-employment sources of funding on the basis of pregnancy, including funding from fellowships, scholarships, or athletic programs. When medically necessary leave is taken, students are legally entitled to return to their program in the status they held before the leave began. Although leave must be made available, universities may not require a student to take a leave of absence, or otherwise limit her studies due to pregnancy or childbirth. Where leave or other accommodations for “baby bonding” or parenting responsibilities are provided to birth mothers, they must be equally provided to fathers or other parents. To that end, she says, she goes beyond the obvious question of how the teens will support their children to ask what dreams they still have for themselves.

Pro-life organizations call on Congress to protect pregnancy resource centers

The Model Policy includes a recommendation that leave be provided for caretaking of immediate family members in addition to leave for new parents, just like in employment law. Related conditions may include false pregnancy, abortion, miscarriage, childbirth, recovery, and various related medical conditions. If your institution provides medical or temporary disability leave, but not maternity leave, pregnant women should be eligible for leave under such policies. Title IX requires that institutions provide leave, at minimum, for as long as deemed medically necessary by a student’s doctor. Although many universities have policies that cover childbearing women, non-birth parents may also need the benefits of a family leave or accommodation policy.

The systematic review https://www.roberts.edu/wellness-center/crisis-and-community-resources/ found that some programs increased contraceptive use, with some effects sustained more than 9 months after the program ended. Nearly one in every five births to teens is a repeat birth (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2013), which can compound the challenges teen parents face (Jones and Mondy 1994; Klerman 2004). By summarizing findings across the supplement, we increase understanding of what is known about serving expectant and parenting teens and point to next steps for future research.

• While they address individual need , campus food pantries do not solve the underlying social determinants related to food insecurity.
• Employed by the county, she works in three Hillsborough schools — two high schools and one middle school — to provide intensive services to pregnant and parenting students to help them finish school without having additional children.
• If you’re pregnant and under 18 you can claim even if you do not receive any benefits.
• Although engagement in the Adolescent Family Life Project-Positive Youth Development case management program was relatively high, barriers included transitions in clients’ lives, transportation issues, family and school commitments, and other overwhelming life circumstances.

What are the social, economic, and learning conditions that shape the experiences of these students? Consider partnerships with other schools within the state or even across state lines, especially in regards to telecommuting options where credits are of equal value. Creative work/study solutions might include paid apprenticeships where credits also apply (especially in STEM) for working student parents.