Frequently Asked Questions

Yes. Under Title IX your institution must excuse any absences related to these conditions, so long as your doctor says the absence is medically necessary. 

Further, your school’s disability leave policy and/or maternity leave policy may provide leave for time periods even longer than what is medically necessary. 

When you return from your absence, you must be reinstated to the same status you held before you left—there can be no penalty for your leave.

You can’t be penalized for taking legally-protected leave.  Professors may require you to complete missed assignments or other work to make up for missed participation, but the make-up work should be comparable with the work given to other students, not extra.  When setting timelines for make-up or missed work, professors need to treat leave as leave; for example, assignment deadlines should not be the day you return, but should be pushed back to give you at least the same amount of time as other students have had to complete the assignments.

Yes! Title IX requires colleges and universities to provide changes, when needed, for students who are pregnant or managing pregnancy related conditions like infertility treatment, lactation, or postpartum depression. These changes are often called “reasonable modifications” or “accommodations” and can include things like:

• A different chair/desk
• Avoiding hazardous chemicals or activities
• Delayed deadlines
• Bathroom breaks
• Permission to eat or drink in class
• Parking spaces
• Notetakers or permission to record a class
• Remote/virtual learning
• Time off to attend doctor’s appointments or attend to health needs

See Know Your Rights: Accommodating Pregnancy-Related Conditions  for advice on how to request an accommodation.

No. Title IX covers all aspects of your education—you cannot be forced to limit your educational activities due to pregnancy, childbirth, abortion, or related conditions. This includes school-sponsored internships or externships, clinics, lab work, athletics and extracurricular activities.  Job placement and career counseling can’t be biased because of your pregnancy or parental status.

Yes. Under Title IX, educational insitutions must ensure that students impacted by pregnancy-related conditions aren’t discriminated against and can have equal access to an education. That means you must be provided with reasonable changes to help you address your pregnancy-related health needs without sacrificing your education. Your school should provide you with access to a lactation space that is functional, private, and not a bathroom. You should also be permitted to take breaks to use the lactation space without facing an academic penalty; lactation breaks can be considered medically-necessary absences protected by Title IX.

Please see Know Your Rights: Breastfeeding for more information.

In addition to the rights you have under Title IX as a student, you may also be covered by other laws that protect employees. These laws don’t impact your academics, but can protect you from employment discrimination and give you rights to work accommodations and/or leave. 

Discrimination against employees based on pregnancy or sex-based stereotypes about parents is illegal. Additionally, employees with pregnancy-related conditions are protected under the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Workers who are lactating have rights to pumping breaks and space under the federal PUMP Act. Other federal, state, and local laws may also protect you.

Finally, you may be entitled to paid or unpaid job-protected leave because of pregnancy or childbirth.  For more information about your rights as a pregnant employee, see our page for students working at school while pregnant or visit our comprehensive online resource center Pregnant@Work.

Harassing or intimidating you because of your pregnancy, childbirth, miscarriage, abortion or related condition is sex discrimination in violation of Title IX.  Likewise, limiting your educational opportunities on those grounds is illegal. University officials are responsible for preventing and responding to harassment from any member of the university community.  Consider reporting your experience to remedy your own situation and to help ensure that others won’t go through what you did.

For more information on making reports, see our guide to reporting.