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.
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.