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Pursuant to Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (Title IX), all colleges and universities that receive federal funding are prohibited from discriminating on the basis of sex – including pregnancy and parental status – in educational programs and activities. Title IX also requires colleges and universities to provide specific accommodations for students who are pregnant or parenting, including for pregnancy, childbirth, lactation, false pregnancy, miscarriage, termination of pregnancy or recovery. For more information, see the “Know Your Rights” guidelines for pregnant and/or parenting students outlined by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights (OCR).
The College of Idaho and its employees and students will therefore follow the protocols and procedures set forth in this Pregnant & Parenting Policy. This Policy shall also be incorporated herein and as applicable to any student handbook and faculty handbook of The College.
The College will not tolerate discrimination, harassment, misconduct, or retaliation of any form, including towards pregnant and/or parenting students.
Under Title IX, it is illegal for schools to exclude a pregnant student from participating in any part of an educational program, including but not limited to honors classes, extracurricular activities, interscholastic sports, honor societies, and opportunities for student leadership. Title IX also prohibits a school from applying any rule related to a student’s parental, family, or marital status that treats students differently based on their sex. When a qualified student returns to school, for example, the student must be allowed to return to the same academic and extracurricular status as before the medically-supported absence began.
Additionally, The College must allow pregnant and/or parenting students to participate in classes and extracurricular activities and not require students to submit a doctor’s note unless a doctor’s note is required from all students who have a physical or emotional condition requiring treatment by a doctor. The College must not require a doctor’s note from students after hospitalization for childbirth unless it requires a doctor’s note from all students who have been hospitalized for other conditions.
For more information or to report an incident, see the College’s Bias & Harassment Prevention Policy, Non-Discrimination Policy or Sexual Misconduct Policy and/or contact the Title IX Coordinator (titleix@collegeofidaho.edu / 208-459-5139).
With proper documentation, qualified students are entitled to reasonable accommodations for their own medical needs due to pregnancy or childbirth. For purposes of accommodations, “qualified students” are defined as “pregnant students or students who have given birth within the past six (6) months.”
As required under Title IX, qualified students seeking academic accommodations must complete the steps as outlined in Section VII of The College’s Student Disability Accommodations Policy. Pursuant to this process, The College requires qualified students to submit supporting documentation from a qualified professional1 as well as medical certification for school participation. Upon receipt of the requisite documentation, the Department of Accessibility & Learning Excellence (DALE), in collaboration with the Title IX Coordinator, will determine reasonable and appropriate accommodations.
Accommodations may vary by individual due to the condition of pregnancy, medical documentation, and the academic program in which the student is enrolled.
Accommodations may include, for example, a larger desk, elevator access, permission to make frequent trips to the restroom, extensions on assignments, rescheduling of tests, or alternative methods of instruction (see Section IV below).
The College must excuse an absence for a qualified student because of pregnancy or childbirth for as long as the student’s physician deems the absences medically necessary. The College may offer the student alternatives to make up missed work such as retaking a semester, taking a leave of absence or allowing the student additional time in a program to continue at the same pace, provided the student will be able to graduate in the amount of time directed by their program of study.
As pregnancy and related conditions are treated as a temporary disability under Title IX, academic accommodations will be approved for a limited period of time based on the information submitted by the treating physician. The student will be required to submit updated documentation, as necessary, if an extension is needed for the use of the accommodations. Extensions may be granted when additional time is required by medical necessity or extraordinary caretaking responsibilities.
For more information or to report an incident, see the College’s Bias & Harassment Prevention Policy, Non-Discrimination Policy or Sexual Misconduct Policy and/or contact the Title IX Coordinator (titleix@collegeofidaho.edu / 208-459-5139).
“Qualified professionals are licensed or otherwise properly credentialed and possess expertise in the disability for which modifications or accommodations are sought.” U.S. Dep’t of Justice, Civil Rights, Division, Disability Rights Section, ADA Requirements: Testing Accommodations, at https://www.ada.gov/regs2014/testing_accommodations.html. Additionally, for purposes of requesting accommodations at the College, the definition of “qualified professional” does not include a College employee (e.g. a staff member of the Health & Wellness Center or DALE), but does include a TimelyCare employee or provider.
Pursuant to Title IX, The College must ensure that the policies and practices of individual faculty members do not discriminate against pregnant or parenting students. As such, faculty who have their own policies about class attendance and make-up work, for example, must ensure that their policies do not conflict with a qualified student’s Title IX rights. For example, a faculty member may not refuse to allow a qualified student to submit work after a deadline or make up an exam that was missed because of absences due to pregnancy or childbirth. Additionally, if a faculty member’s grading is based in part on class attendance or participation, the student should be allowed to earn the credits missed so that the student can be reinstated to the status they had before the medically-supported absence.
Faculty and staff must be aware of and follow Title IX requirements for pregnant and parenting students and are encouraged to work with the Title IX Coordinator to discuss any concerns. When responding to students with questions regarding accommodations related to pregnancy or parenting, faculty and staff are encouraged to refer students to the Title IX Coordinator (titleix@collegeofidaho.edu / 208-459-5139) or DALE (accessibility@collegeofidaho.edu / 208-459-5351).
The College provides a variety of accommodations to meet the different needs of our students. The below list provides some examples of accommodations granted by DALE to support pregnant and parenting students:
Reasonable accommodations may not be appropriate if they fundamentally alter the programs of instruction. Students will need to meet the academic and/or technical standards of the programs. Nothing in this Policy requires modification to the fundamental elements of any academic program.
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