Title IX’s Final Regulations protect any person, including a student, employee, volunteer, or applicant for admission, from sex discrimination based on pregnancy and related conditions. The following webpage describes who is covered under Title IX’s pregnancy related protections and how an individual may access accommodations.

 

Pregnancy & Related Conditions

When PPSC students, employees, and volunteers are pregnant or have pregnancy related conditions, they have the legal right to reasonable. Title IX regulations define “pregnancy or related conditions” as:

• Pregnancy, childbirth, termination of pregnancy, or lactation;
• Medical conditions related to pregnancy, childbirth, termination of pregnancy, or lactation, or
• Recovery from pregnancy, childbirth, termination of pregnancy, lactation or related conditions.

Medical conditions related to pregnancy, childbirth, termination of pregnancy, or lactation include, but are not limited to: pregnancy-related fatigue; dehydration (or the need for increased water intake); nausea (or morning sickness); increased body temperature; anemia; and bladder dysfunction; gestational diabetes; preeclampsia; hyperemesis gravidarum (severe nausea and vomiting; pregnancy induced hypertension (high blood pressure); infertility; recovery from childbirth, miscarriage, or abortion; ectopic pregnancy; prenatal or postpartum depression; and lactation conditions, such as swelling or leaking of breast tissue or mastitis. “Termination of Pregnancy” is interpreted by the U.S. Department of Education to include abortion, miscarriage, or stillbirth.

 

Notify the Title IX Coordinator

To access reasonable accommodations for pregnancy or related conditions, an individual may contact the Title IX Coordinator:

• Title IX Compliance/EO Officer: Kim Hennessy, Vice President for Human Resource Services, 719-502-2600

Once notified, the Title IX Coordinator will promptly and effectively take the following steps:

For Students:

• Tell the student about PPSC’s responsibilities to pregnant students or employees, including its obligation to respond to sex discrimination and limit sharing of private information, and provide the school’s notice of nondiscrimination.
• Make reasonable modifications to the school’s policies, practices, or procedures.
• Let the student voluntarily access other parts of the school’s education program or activity that are separate and comparable to the general program or activity.
• Let the student voluntarily take a leave of absence and be reinstated to the academic status and, as practicable, to the extracurricular status that the student held when the voluntary leave began.
• Ensure the student can access a lactation space.
• Ensure the school does not request supporting documentation from the student unless doing so is necessary and reasonable to determine reasonable modification or other steps.

For Employees:

• Pregnancy or related conditions shall be treated the same as other temporary medical condition for all job-related purposes including commencement, duration, and extensions of leave; payment of disability income; accrual of seniority and any other benefit or service; reinstatement; and under any fringe benefit offered to employees by virtue of employment.
• Pregnancy or related conditions shall be treated as justification for a voluntary leave of absence without pay for a reasonable period of time if the school does not have an employee leave policy or if an employee has insufficient leave or accrued employment time to qualify for such a policy.
• At the end of a voluntary leave of absence because of pregnancy or related conditions, the employee shall be reinstated to the status held when the leave began or to a comparable position without a decrease in rate of compensation or loss of promotional opportunities, or any other right or privilege of employment.
• Provide the employee with reasonable break time to express breast milk or breastfeed as needed.
• Ensure an employee can access a lactation space as needed.

 

Reasonable Modifications 

“Reasonable modifications” are changes or adjustments to the educational or working environment. Some examples of reasonable modifications under Title IX may include:

• Additional, longer, or more flexible breaks during class or work to express breast milk, breastfeed, or attend to health needs associated with pregnancy or related conditions, including eating, drinking, or using the restroom;
• Intermittent absences from class to attend medical appointments;
• Access to online, remote, or homebound education;
• Changes in schedule or course sequence;
• Extensions of time for coursework and rescheduling of tests and examinations;
• Allowing a student or employee to sit or stand, or carry water nearby
• Counseling for students;
• Changes in physical space or supplies (for example, access to a larger desk or a footrest);
• Elevator access; or
• Other changes to policies, practices, or procedures.

This list provides examples and is not exhaustive. Modifications will vary depending on the individual’s specific needs.

 

Privacy

Any personal information that a school receives as part of its Title IX compliance generally cannot be shared, including information about a student’s or an employee’s pregnancy or related conditions and information regarding requests for reasonable modifications or leave. There are limited expectations that allow a school to share personal information, which are:

• When the school has obtained prior written consent from a person with the legal right to consent to the disclosure;
• When the information is shared with a parent, guardian, or other authorized legal representation with the legal right to receive disclosures on behalf of the person whose personal information is at issue;
• To carry out the purposes of Title IX, including actions taken to address conduct that reasonably may constitute sex discrimination;
• As required by Federal law, Federal regulations, or the terms and conditions of a Federal award, including a grant award or other funding agreement; or
• To the extent such disclosures do not otherwise conflict with Title IX or its implementing regulations, when required by State or local law or when permitted under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) or its implementing regulations.