The Pregnant Scholar

Category: Case Updates

  • Title IX Rule Vacated: Our Statement

    Title IX Rule Vacated: Our Statement

    On January 9, a federal district judge in Kentucky vacated the 2024 Title IX Rule for the entire country. “This shameful decision puts pregnant and postpartum students, and millions of others, in harm’s way,” said Jessica Lee, Co-Director of the Center for WorkLife Law and co-founder of the Center’s Pregnant Scholar Initiative. “Without the protections offered by the 2024 Title IX regulations, pregnant students will struggle to get the accommodations and leave they need to both stay healthy and continue their education.”

    Since the 1970s, all previous Title IX Rules have prohibited discrimination on the basis of pregnancy, childbirth, abortion, miscarriage, and other conditions–without explicitly including all pregnancy-related conditions or giving much guidance on how schools and colleges should get the job done. As Lee noted with the implementation of the 2024 Title IX Rule last year, “Under the old rules, students regularly called our helpline because they were kicked out for missing a couple classes to attend doctor’s appointments, told they’re no longer welcome in school, or forced to sacrifice their safety during pregnancy or postpartum.” The 2024 regulations provided welcome guidance for supporting this student population.

    This decision comes after a tumultuous year, which saw at least nine lawsuits filed against the Rule by conservative Attorneys General and special interest groups, and the Supreme Court refusing to intervene. The majority of the challenges focused on excluding LGBTQIA+ students from the protections of Title IX.

    “While Title IX itself continues to offer protection for students in court, this devastating ruling will sow needless confusion amongst colleges and universities, which have worked tirelessly to implement the 2024 Rule over the last nine months. And it will make it harder for students who were discriminated against, assaulted, or harassed, to get the help they need,” said Lee. Educational institutions can and should continue providing modifications (including lactation space) and leave to their pregnant and postpartum students and note that the provisions protecting pregnant and parenting students were not even challenged in this case. WorkLife Law will continue to resource colleges and universities looking to adopt best practices to support pregnant and parenting students in accordance with the law. And we will continue to stand with the millions of students harmed by this decision as they pursue their educational goals.

    Sign up for our next Title IX Tuesdays to learn more.

    About our work

    Roughly 1 in 4 undergraduates and 1 in 3 graduate students are parents, with hundreds of thousands more students becoming pregnant each semester. Yet these students, the majority of whom are people of color, receive little institutional support. As the nation’s legal resource center on the rights of pregnant and parenting postsecondary students, the Center for WorkLife Law’s Pregnant Scholar Initiative works to ensure pregnant and postpartum students are able to continue their studies without sacrificing their health or their family’s wellbeing. The Pregnant Scholar’s team provides technical assistance to college/university administrators, training on Title IX and other legal protections, and assistance implementing best practice policies. We also operate a free legal helpline for pregnant and parenting students nationwide who want to learn more about their rights or who need expert support in fighting harassment or securing accommodations and leave. Learn more here. 

  • Pregnant Scholar Statement on Recent Title IX Lawsuit Decisions 

    Pregnant Scholar Statement on Recent Title IX Lawsuit Decisions 

    Update: Additional preliminary injunctions have been ordered, impacting 26 states and beyond. To learn more, see our latest update and FAQ post, here.

    In the past week, two federal judges have issued rulings in response to challenges to the new Title IX regulations from the Department of Education. As a result of these rulings, the August 1, 2024 enactment of the new Title IX regulations has been temporarily blocked in Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia while the cases are fully adjudicated.  

    Jessica Lee, Director of the Pregnant Scholar Initiative and incoming Co-Director of the Center for WorkLife Law at UC Law SF, issued in following statement in response: 

    “We’re devastated that students will suffer while the legal system addresses these politically-motivated lawsuits. In particular, we are concerned that pregnant, postpartum, and parenting students will not have the basic support they need to continue their education in the affected states. 

    This year alone, The Pregnant Scholar’s legal helpline has heard from dozens of students who were denied pregnancy accommodations, maternity recovery leave, and/or lactation breaks. We have also supported students who have faced harassment and discrimination because they are parents or because they’ve had a miscarriage and/or abortion. Without the clear guidance provided by the new Title IX regulations, these students faced grade penalties, harm to their health, and even forced dismissal from their academic programs. Pregnant, postpartum and parenting students desperately need the strengthened protections offered by the Biden Administration’s new Title IX regulations—protections which have now been put on hold.”

    What’s the controversy? 

    The legal cases at issue center on the Title IX regulation’s protections related to discrimination on the basis of gender identity, sexual orientation, and sex stereotypes—which impact LGBTQI+ students alongside many others, including students impacted by motherhood bias and fatherhood bias. The Supreme Court has already made clear in Bostock that federal legal protections against sex discrimination necessarily include discrimination based on gender and related stereotyping, and other federal courts have already applied that interpretation of the law in the student context.  

    Another key issue raised in other Title IX cases is the regulations’ requirement to not discriminate on the basis of abortion; a rule that has been a part of the Title IX regulations since 1975. Note that Title IX already allows educational institutions to decline to pay for or provide abortion health services and offers the potential for religious institutions to seek exemptions to the extent following Title IX would conflict with religious beliefs.  

    What legal protections remain in effect? 

    Educational institutions and policymakers should remember that the existing Title IX regulations continue to apply even while the new ones are enjoined. For nearly fifty years, the regulations have mandated that educational institutions: 

    • can’t discipline or harass a student or employee because they are pregnant, have given birth, or have had a miscarriage or abortion. 
    • must allow leave for pregnancy, childbirth, miscarriage and/or abortion for students as long as their physician says is medically necessary, and to employees for a reasonable period of time. 
    • must provide accommodations to students with health needs related to pregnancy, childbirth, miscarriage and/or abortion to ensure they have an equal access to education. This includes providing accommodations, leave, and other benefits to at least the same extent as they are provided to students with disabilities.  
    • cannot discriminate on the basis of sex, which includes adverse treatment based on stereotypes about how people of a certain sex should act. 

    Additionally, educational institutions should remember that employees have many of the rights articulated in the new Title IX regulations under other laws which remain in effect. The PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act and similar state laws require employers to provide employees with lactation breaks and space. The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations for all pregnancy-related conditions. These laws apply in addition to pre-existing Title IX rights, and are not impacted by these recent injunctions. 

    What’s next? 

    Educational institutions in affected states should continue to enforce the pre-existing Title IX regulations (described above). In addition, educational institutions in those states can—and should—continue efforts to implement the new regulations or at least prepare for implementation.  Educational institutions’ preparation is critical to avoid liability, as the injunction can be lifted in the future with little notice; if courts decide the regulations should go into effect, schools and colleges can have as little as one day to make changes. Finally, we must not lose sight of the fact that enacting the new regulations for pregnant and parenting students will support their ability to access an education. Each additional step taken—whether legally mandated or not—is a step closer to ensuring pregnant, postpartum, and parenting students can achieve their educational goals and gain economic security for their families.  

    Students, administrators and others with questions regarding the new Title IX Regulations should review our 2024 Title IX Toolkit, or contact us for more information. 

  • Updated Title IX Religious Exemptions List

    Updated Title IX Religious Exemptions List

    Title IX, the federal law banning sex discrimination in education, prohibits discrimination related to pregnancy and marital status, including discrimination against college students and employees who are pregnant outside of marriage, divorced, or have had an abortion. The federal law also requires universities to ensure equal opportunities for pregnant students and employees by allowing medically necessary leave related to pregnancy and related conditions. These protections cover the vast majority of educational institutions, however as we’ve previously reported, Title IX allows religious colleges to “opt-out” of following the law, if complying with Title IX would conflict with religious tenets of the institution.

    The Pregnant Scholar has reviewed religious exemption requests filed with the Department of Education over the last 15 years, discovering over one hundred religious colleges and universities chose to opt-out of Title IX protections relating to pregnant and parenting students in that time. These institutions have formally declared they will not follow Title IX’s provisions related to pregnancy and parental/marital status, yet others may declare their exemption in the future. With the upcoming 2024 release of new Title IX regulations, students and employees of religious insitutions should pay close attention; many campuses will be re-evaluating their policies in light of the new regulations, and some may be considering opting out entirely.

    Below is a list of the institutions that have received waivers related to Title IX’s pregnancy and parenting provisions from 2009 to 2024 with links to the institution’s waiver request. The requests often provide detail regarding the school’s reasoning, or more context on the situations in which it will refuse to follow Title IX:

    You can learn more about Title IX religious exemptions and view a full list of institutions that have applied for or received an exemption for any reason, (including reasons not related to pregnancy, parenting or parental status) on the Department of Education’s webpage, here.

    Are you considering attending a religious institution?

    Students who want to enroll in a college with an exemption should weigh their risks and options carefully; they may not have legal protection against discrimination or be entitled to certain accommodations. Further, any student enrolling in any religious college or university should carefully consider their own risks and learn as much as possible about the insitution’s policies. While it is helpful to know which colleges have already declared a Title IX exemption, it is important to note that religious colleges that do not currently have an exemption may still choose to opt out of Title IX in the future. Admitted students may want to write a letter to admissions requesting that the college affirm its commitment to Title IX protections. A sample letter for students admitted to religious institutions that have not yet opted out of Title IX is available here. Students can also submit letters to colleges that have already invoked exemptions, expressing concern and requesting information about insitution-level policies. By sending these letters, admitted students can collect relevant information while also showing the college that this issue matters to their community.

    Expressing your support for protecting pregnant and parenting students under Title IX is especially important as new Title IX regulations are implemented this year. Colleges and universities will be looking at these new regulations to determine whether they need to update their policies—and some religious institutions may be considering opting out. Please speak up now to ensure that all students, including those who wish to study at a religiously affiliated institution, have equal access to an education under Title IX.

    Are you sending a letter? We’d love to hear about it and learn from any response you receive. Sign up here.

    Need assistance understanding your rights?

    The Pregnant Scholar’s team is happy to assist students and employees who need help understanding and/or asserting their rights.

    Contact us