The Pregnant Scholar

Tag: registration

  • New Protections for Pregnant and Parenting Students in Texas

    New Protections for Pregnant and Parenting Students in Texas

    Texas just enacted several groundbreaking new laws to protect pregnant and parenting college students at public institutions of higher education! While the protections only cover some aspects of student’s education, we’re celebrating as Texas is now one of just a few states to explicitly protect postsecondary student parents from discrimination. What’s more, beginning this fall semester, Texas student parents will be entitled to priority registration. The state now also requires public higher education institutions to collect and report data, have a campus student parent advocate, and implement pregnant and parenting student anti-discrimination policies.

    Read about the highlights of these new laws and how to get help implementing them below:

    1. Texas law now bans discrimination against students due to their pregnancy or parental status.

    Texas Ed. Code. § 51.982 (SB 412) protects parenting students from: being forced out of school; limiting their studies; attending an alternative program; changing their major, degree, or certificate program; and being forced into or out of any particular course, activity, or program based solely on their parenting status or “issues related to the student’s pregnancy or parenting.” While Title IX (and various anti-discrimination laws) has long prohibited discrimination against pregnant and birthing students, most anti-discrimination laws only protect parenting students from discrimination on the basis of sex or marital status.(Other laws prohibit discrimination against parents in housing only.)The Texas law is pathbreaking because it protects parenting students of children under 18 from discrimination in their academic life regardless of whether the discrimination they face is sex-based or not. And, by including “issues related” to pregnancy and parenting, the law provides broad coverage. The law goes into effect September 1, 2023.

    2. Pregnant or parenting students will be entitled to take a leave of absence.

    Texas Ed. Code. § 51.982 (SB 412) allows pregnant and parenting students to take a leave of absence and return in good standing without being required to reapply for admission. Under Title IX, students are entitled to leave for as long as medically necessary for pregnancy, childbirth, and related conditions—but not for parenting. Texas law goes beyond Title IX by requiring institutions to provide their parenting college students with protected leave, though it does not specify how long students are allowed to take. The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board has been tasked with establishing rules on leave length. The Pregnant Scholar will update this post and share additional information from the Board as soon as it becomes available.

    3. Parenting students in Texas are now entitled to priority registration.

    Starting September 1, 2023, any public postsecondary institution which provides early registration has to offer it to parenting students because of Texas Ed. Code § 51.983 (SB459). Under this law, students who are a parent or legal guardian of a child under 18 are entitled to register early!  Learn more about why this is so important in our blog about CA’s priority registration law, here.

    4. Reasonable accommodations for pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions must be provided.

    Under Texas Ed. Code. § 51.982 (SB 412), like Title IX, pregnant students are entitled to accommodations that are related to the health and safety of their pregnancy and cannot be treated worse than students with other temporary medical conditions. The Texas law adds more guidance by making clear that colleges and universities must allow students to have excused absences for pregnancy and make up missed assignments.  

    5. Institutions of higher education are required to adopt a nondiscrimination policy to protect pregnant and parenting students.

    Texas Ed. Code. § 51.982 (SB 412) requires public colleges and universities to adopt a nondiscrimination policy specifically for pregnant and parenting students. This policy must include the contact information for an administrative official that is responsible for helping a student obtain accommodations related to their pregnancy. Further, this policy must be easily accessible on the institution’s website, and it must be provided to faculty, staff, and employees of the institution regularly.

    This is a critical part of the new law. Often, institutions do not specifically mention pregnant and parenting students in Title IX policies—leaving students and faculty in the dark. Requiring universities to have a separate nondiscrimination policy for pregnant and parenting students will help increase awareness of these protections and will ensure that students who need help know where to find it.

    6. Institutions must have a designated support “liaison” for student parents.

    Student parents have to navigate a tangle of support programs, application processes, and regulations. Now, with Texas Ed. Code. § 51.982 (SB597/HB1361), student parents and incoming students will have the help of a student parent liaison to provide them with information about resources and supports such as health coverage, housing and food benefits, and childcare resources. This is similar to “basic needs” coordinators in other states—but designated specifically for student parents.

    7. Institutions must collect data on student parents in Texas.

    Texas just joined a small handful of states requiring the collection of data regarding student parents. Texas Ed. Code. § 51.982 (SB597/HB1361) now requires on-campus student parent liaisons to report to the state each year the number of student parents and their basic demographic data. The law will also require higher education institutions to report information about student parents’ academic progress—including withdrawals and enrollment status. This data is critical to understanding whether educational institutions are meeting student parents’ needs, and for sorting out where additional support should be provided.

    8. Institutions must be careful to follow Title IX and the new Texas laws.

    Enacting this state law is a major milestone for pregnant and parenting students! While these laws go further than Title IX in many areas, educational institutions should be careful to continue to meet their Title IX obligations. For example, as institutions draft their policies on leave as required under Texas Ed. Code. § 51.982 (SB 412), they must also meet Title IX standards regarding medically necessary leave  and documentation requirements. Further, administrators should remain mindful of student privacy protections under Title IX and other federal law.

    Looking to implement a new law in your state?

    The Pregnant Scholar maintains a database of state legislation and model bills that can assist your efforts. Please reach out to [email protected] more information.

    Need help

    understanding

    the laws?

    These new laws will all be in effect by September 1, 2023. If you are looking to implement new policies on your campus as a result of these laws you can find resources on The Pregnant Scholar’s website or sign up to receive new materials and an invite to upcoming technical assistance sessions.

    Sign up here

    Related Resources

  • California AB 2881: New rights for parenting students in CA

    California AB 2881: New rights for parenting students in CA

    California has just enacted a new law to support parenting college students! The law is a unique and welcome addition; while roughly 1 in 5 college students is a student parent, there are only a handful of state laws designed to protect and aid this important student population. When it goes into effect in 2023, AB 2881 will require colleges and universities in California to provide priority registration for student parents, and to notify them of resources and supports critical to their success. California is now the first state to require educational institutions to provide priority registration for college student parents! AB 2881 is an important lever to address the needs of student parents, and it also supports higher education systems in reaching their goals to reduce equity gaps more broadly.  [UPDATE: review our AB 2881 Implementation Tools here]

    Priority registration is a best practice for supporting student parents. 

    Student parents often experience “time poverty.” While they are often excellent at time management, student parents have more responsibilities and inflexible time demands than the average student and therefore need more institutional support. AB 2881 requires campuses to have a priority registration process in place for student parents by July 1, 2023.

    Priority registration allows student parents to register for courses before some other students. This is an essential support that also benefits other students with important scheduling needs, such as students with disabilities and athletes. Student parents often navigate all the demands of higher education in addition to work, (often inflexible) childcare schedules and other parenting responsibilities. For example, a student parent may have to schedule courses around their child’s school drop off and pickup time or may want to build breaks into their day to make it easier to breastfeed without missing class. Others report needing priority registration to allow them to plan a course schedule that accommodates their disabled child’s medical appointments. Early registration is particularly important for students in programs with tight sequencing, or where required courses are only available once each year. By allowing student parents to have a wider choice of course scheduling options, priority registration ensures student parents will be less likely to have to choose between finishing their degree and being there for their families. 

    AB2881 sets the stage for better data collection on CA student parents 

    A lack of data on student parents has long slowed progress meeting their needs; if we don’t know how many student parents there are and where, how can we properly serve them? While AB 2881 doesn’t explicitly require colleges and universities to collect or report data on parenting students, it sets the stage for better data collection.

    Under the law, institutions can choose how they identify student parents (using the FAFSA, CADAA, or other documentation). At minimum, colleges and universities following the law must provide priority registration for student parents who have children under the age of 18 who receive more than half of their support from the student. This definition excludes many parenting students who need services, such as those who share custody or who are caring for adult children with disabilities, but it does provide a vital starting point for assessing the number of student parents at a particular institution, and a foundation for tracking their progress. If implemented thoughtfully, AB 2881 can build a foundation for future progress supporting parenting students in California colleges and universities. 

    Providing resource navigation will ease bureaucratic barriers 

    In addition to ensuring California colleges and universities develop a priority registration system for student parents, the new CA law also requires them to create a student parent webpage, sharing information about available resources on campus and in the larger community. This webpage must be published by February 1, 2023, and should include information about the priority registration system, as well as information about CalFresh, the California Earned Income Tax Credit, the Young Child Tax Credit, and the California Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).  

    [UPDATE: review our AB 2881 Implementation Tools here]  

    Institutions must provide the student parent webpage link to students as a part of campus orientations. Colleges and universities must also provide the student parent webpage link to faculty and encourage them to include the link in their syllabi. To ensure that the student parent internet webpage remains useful to student parents, AB 2881 requires that the webpage be reviewed and updated no later than the first day of every fall and spring semester or no later than the first day of every fall and spring quarter. 

    If you are a Title IX coordinator, university administrator, faculty member or student parent leader in California interested in hearing more, The Pregnant Scholar team will be hosting technical assistance sessions and other events to aid colleges in implementing AB 2881. Come join us! If you are not in California but want to learn more to support your own advocacy efforts you are also welcome to join.

    Sign up to receive future AB 2881 implementation tools and event invitations.