Faculty/Employee Guidance for Pregnant and Parenting Students

Faculty/Employee Guidance

Immaculata University and its employees are required to comply with Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (“Title IX”), a federal civil rights law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, and parental status) in educational programs and activities that receive federal funding.

Instructors are required to grant reasonable adjustments in accordance with Title IX guidelines outlined in this document. Adjustments for pregnancy-related conditions refer to modifications or accommodations provided to students experiencing challenges due to pregnancy, pregnancy related conditions or childbirth. These adjustments aim to ensure that students can continue their education without discrimination or undue hardship.  A student seeking these adjustments should communicate their requests directly with each instructor.

Faculty/Employee Responsibilities:

• Allow a pregnant student to continue participating in class or extracurricular activities without requiring a doctor’s note.
• Excuse absences due to pregnancy or childbirth for as long as the student believes it is necessary and provide the student with the opportunity to make up missed work.
• Provide the student with an opportunity to make up participation or attendance credits that they didn’t have the chance to earn during absences due to pregnancy or childbirth.
• Provide pregnant students with reasonable adjustments, such as frequent bathroom breaks.
• Provide pregnant students with the same special services you offer to students with other temporary medical conditions, if any (e.g., If you provide things like remote instruction or independent study options to students with temporary medical conditions like mono or recovery from surgery, then you must provide pregnant students with those same special services).
• Allow a student to return to the same academic and extracurricular status they held before an absence due to pregnancy or childbirth.
• Refrain from encouraging the student to withdraw from a course or program or to change educational plans due to pregnancy or childbirth.
• Protect pregnant students from harassment based on pregnancy or parental status (i.e. do not knowingly permit sexual comments, name-calling, jokes, or similar behavior regarding the student’s pregnancy).

FAQs:

Can I request medical documentation from my pregnant student?

No. At Immaculata University, if the student reports that she is pregnant and requires some sort of adjustment to established policy or practice (such as an attendance policy), you are to take this report and request at face value and not ask for supporting medical documentation or other “proof.”

What if a student submits a doctor’s note or other medical documentation to me?

Tell the pregnant/parenting student that you do not need the documentation and decline to accept.

Can I ask a pregnant student the reason for their pregnancy-related absence?

No. You must excuse a student's pregnancy/childbirth-related absence regardless of the reason (e.g., morning sickness, fatigue, health care appointment, miscarriage, bedrest, delivery, recovery and bonding, etc.) and should not ask the student to explain their absence other than to indicate that it was pregnancy/childbirth related.

What class adjustments must I make for a pregnant student?

Examples of adjustments include more frequent bathroom breaks, larger desk/seating area, etc.

Is there a maximum number of absences a pregnant student can have?

No. Absences due to pregnancy, childbirth, or a related condition must be permitted as excused absences for as long as necessary. Faculty members must be careful not to treat or penalize these absences as unexcused. After an excused absence due to pregnancy, childbirth, or any related medical condition, you should allow a reasonable time for the student to make up missed assignments and tests. 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 identical to the missed work but needs to be reasonably equivalent.

I have a strict absence policy that applies regardless of any medical condition. Must I excuse a pregnant student’s absences that exceed the number I allow in my absence policy?

Yes. Title IX is a federal law that supersedes any university or instructor-based attendance policy. A pregnant student should be allotted the same number of absences permitted by your absence policy for non-pregnancy-related absences, plus any excused absences the student believes are necessary due to pregnancy/childbirth.

What if the requirement missed by a pregnant student cannot be made up by the end of the semester?

The student should be allowed to take an incomplete grade and have the opportunity to complete the requirement within the timeframe outlined in the University’s policies on incompletes.

Must I give a pregnant student a grade if all course requirements have not been completed?

No. All course requirements must be completed, as with all students.

My grading rubric includes class attendance and participation. How should I apply this in the case of student absences due to pregnancy or childbirth?

If you award points or other advantages based on class attendance, pregnant students must be given the opportunity to earn back the credit from classes missed because of pregnancy, childbirth, or related conditions. You may either remove these factors from your grading rubric for the affected student or provide a reasonable alternative assignment that allows the student to make up these points.

Do I have to grant the request of a pregnant student to accept an alternative assignment in lieu of completing course requirements?

It depends. If there is a reasonable basis for the student not completing the regularly assigned course requirements and there are meaningful alternative assignments that will satisfy the academic elements of the course, then the alternative assignments should be permitted. However, if there is no meaningful alternative that will satisfy the academic elements of certain programs or course requirements—such as demonstrating mastery of a practical skill or logging hours of practical experience (e.g., student teaching, science labs, clinical rotations)-then alternative assignments that do not satisfy the academic elements of the course or that would fundamentally alter the academic standards of the course or program should not be granted. In such a case, the student may choose to complete the regular course requirements during the semester or to take an incomplete, per the University’s policy on incompletes.

Can I require a Student Accommodation Letter from Learning Support Services? Pregnancy alone is not a disability, and you may not ask for or require an Accommodation Letter as a condition for making adjustments for pregnant/parenting students required by Title IX.

If a pregnant student believes their pregnancy is a disability, asks for accommodations under the ADA, or asks for accommodations not provided under Title IX for pregnant/parenting students, what should I do? Refer the student to Jennifer Peruso, executive director of Learning Support Services, at jperuso@immaculata.edu or (484) 323-3900.

If an academic program requires internships, career rotations or other off-campus elements, can a pregnant student be excluded from participation?

No. The University must allow the student to continue participating in off-campus programs, including opportunities to “work in the field” at the student’s choice. A doctor’s note for continued participation may not be required unless it is required for all students in the program.

What if there are risks associated with taking my class taking my class (e.g., chemistry labs, etc.)?

You may provide students with Safety Data Sheets and encourage them to review these with their health care provider. You should not give your opinion about whether the student should participate or whether it is “safe” for the student to participate. The determination about risk and whether to participate is solely at the discretion of the student. The pregnant student may decide to make up missed assignments within the semester, to take an incomplete, or to withdraw and re-enroll later.

What should I do if a student presses me to accept an arrangement I do not believe is covered by the requirements described in this document?

Be friendly to the student and indicate that you will consider the request and provide a response shortly. Then promptly contact the Title IX coordinator for recommendations.

What if I have questions?

Contact Janelle Cronmiller, Title IX coordinator, at jcronmiller@immaculata.edu or (484) 323-3982.