UMGC Policy VI-1.61 UMGC Policy on Title IX and Pregnant and Parenting Students

Purpose

UMGC is committed to creating and maintaining a community where all individuals enjoy freedom from discrimination, including discrimination on the basis of sex, as mandated by Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (“Title IX”). Sex discrimination, which can include discrimination based on pregnancy, marital status, or parental status, is prohibited and illegal in admissions, educational programs and activities, hiring, leave policies, employment policies, and health insurance coverage. UMGC hereby establishes a policy and associated procedures for ensuring the protection and equal treatment of pregnant individuals, persons with pregnancy-related conditions, and new parents.

The Title IX Coordinator is responsible for coordinating the UMGC's efforts to comply with and carry out its responsibilities under Title IX, and this Policy. The Title IX Coordinator may have a legal obligation to report a crime to local law enforcement. UMGC's Title IX Coordinator is:

Jamie Thayer
E-mail: titleixcoordinator@umgc.edu
Office: 800-888-8682, ext. 17930
UMGC Headquarters
3501 University Blvd, East
Office of Community Engagement & Opportunity
Adelphi, MD 20783

Under the Department of Education’s (DOE) Title IX regulations, an institution that receives federal funding “shall not discriminate against any student or exclude any student from its education program or activity, including any class or extracurricular activity, on the basis of such student’s pregnancy, childbirth, false pregnancy, termination of pregnancy, or recovery therefrom.” According to the DOE, appropriate treatment of a pregnant student includes granting the student leave “for so long a period of time as is deemed medically necessary by the student’s physician,” and then effectively reinstating the student to the same status as was held when the leave began.

This generally means that pregnant students should be treated by UMGC the same way as someone who has a temporary disability and will be given an opportunity to make up missed work wherever possible. Extended deadlines, make-up assignments (e.g., papers, quizzes, tests, and presentations), tutoring, independent study, online course completion options, and incomplete grades that can be completed at a later date, should all be employed, in addition to any other ergonomic and assistive supports typically provided by Accessibility Services. To the extent possible, UMGC will take reasonable steps to ensure that pregnant students who take time off for reasons related to pregnancy and related conditions return to the same position of academic progress that they were in before taking time off. The Title IX Coordinator has the authority to determine that such supportive measures are necessary and appropriate, and to inform faculty members of the need to adjust academic parameters accordingly.

As with disability supportive measures, information about pregnant students’ requests for supportive measures will be shared with faculty and staff only to the extent necessary to provide the supportive measure. Faculty and staff will regard all information associated with such requests as private and will not disclose this information unless necessary. Administrative responsibility for these supportive measures lies with the Title IX Coordinator, who will maintain all appropriate documentation related to supportive measures.

In situations such as group projects, presentations, labs, clinical or field experiences, the institution will work with the student to devise an alternative path to completion, if possible. In progressive curricular and/or cohort-model programs, medically necessary leaves are sufficient cause to permit the student to shift course order, substitute similar courses, or join a subsequent cohort when returning from leave.

Students are encouraged to work with their faculty members and UMGC’s support systems to devise a plan for how to best address the conditions as pregnancy progresses, anticipate the need for leaves, minimize the academic impact of their absence, and get back on track as efficiently and comfortably as possible. The Title IX Coordinator will assist with plan development and implementation as needed.

Scope and Applicability

This Policy applies to all aspects of UMGC’s program, including, but not limited to, admissions, educational programs and activities, and extracurricular activities.

This Policy is separate from UMGC Policy V-1.30 Student Reasonable Accommodation, which complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (“ADA”), and as amended in 2008 and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. In the event the Title IX Coordinator receives a request for a pregnancy, pregnancy-related and/or parenting request that may qualify as a disability under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act or the ADA, the request will be sent to Accessibility Services.

The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) requires accommodations for employees experiencing Pregnancy or Related Conditions.

Please see UMGC Policy on Workplace Reasonable Accommodations for more information about the PWFA and the procedures for employees experiencing Pregnancy or Related Conditions.

Definitions

The following definitions apply to the Title IX Pregnant and Parenting Students Policy:

1. Academic Course Requirements: The specific criteria that must be met to successfully complete a course or academic program.
2. Caretaking: Caring for and providing for the needs of a child.
3. Medical Necessity: A determination made by a health care provider (of the student’s choosing) that a certain course of action is in the patient’s best health interests.
4. Parenting: The raising of a child by the child’s parents in the reasonably immediate post-partum period.
5. Pregnancy and Pregnancy-Related Conditions: Includes (but is not limited to) pregnancy, childbirth, false pregnancy, termination of pregnancy, conditions arising in connection with pregnancy, and recovery from any of these conditions.
6. Pregnancy Discrimination: Includes treating an individual affected by pregnancy or a pregnancy-related condition less favorably than similar individuals not so affected and includes a failure to provide legally mandated leave or supportive measures.
7. Pregnant Student/Birth-Parent: Refers to the student who is or was pregnant. This policy and its pregnancy-related protections apply to all pregnant persons, regardless of gender identity or expression.
8. Sex Discrimination: Exclusion from participation in or being denied the benefits of UMGC’s education program and activities on the basis of sex, sex stereotypes, sex characteristics, sexual orientation, gender identity, Pregnancy or Pregnancy-Related Conditions, parental or family status, and marital status. Sex-based harassment is a form of Sex Discrimination.
9. Supportive Measures: Changes in the academic environment or typical operations that enables pregnant students or students with pregnancy-related conditions to continue to pursue their studies and enjoy the equal benefits of UMGC.

Roles and Responsibilities

UMGC has appointed the Title IX Team, comprised of the following individual(s), to coordinate UMGC’s compliance with federal, state, and local civil rights laws and ordinances:

For Sex Discrimination and Sex-Based Harassment Allegations:
Jamie Thayer
Title IX Coordinator
Office of Community Engagement and Outreach
Administration Building Suite 3105C
3501 University Boulevard East Suite 3105C
800-888-8682 ext. 17930
titleixcoordinator@umgc.edu

Collectively, these individuals are responsible for providing comprehensive nondiscrimination education and training; coordinating UMGC’s timely, thorough, and fair response; investigation and resolution of all alleged prohibited conduct under the Policy; and monitoring the effectiveness of, and any barriers to, accessing the Policy and related procedures to ensure an education and employment environment free from Discrimination, Harassment, and Retaliation.

Staff and faculty should direct students who disclose a Pregnancy or Related Condition that is impacting their ability to participate in a UMGC program or activity to the Title IX Coordinator. Staff and faculty should also report such disclosures directly to the Title IX Coordinator.

Concerns about UMGC’s application of the Policy and compliance with certain federal civil rights laws may be addressed to:

Office for Civil Rights (OCR)
U.S. Department of Education
400 Maryland Avenue, SW
Washington, D.C. 20202-1100
Customer Service Hotline: (800) 421-3481
Facsimile: (202) 453-6012
TDD: (877) 521-2172
Email: OCR@ed.gov
Web: http://www.ed.gov/ocr

1. Supportive Measures of Students Affected by Pregnancy, Childbirth, or Related Conditions
   1. UMGC and its faculty, staff, and other employees will not require students to limit their studies as the result of pregnancy or pregnancy-related conditions.
   2. The benefits and services provided to students affected by pregnancy will be no less than those provided to students with temporary medical conditions.
   3. Students with pregnancy-related disabilities, like any student with a short-term or temporary disability, are entitled to supportive measures so that they will not be disadvantaged in their courses of study or research, and may seek assistance from the Title IX office.
   4. UMGC is limited in its ability to impact or implement supportive measures retroactively.
   5. Supportive measures may include, but are not limited to:
      1. Providing supportive measures requested by a pregnant student to protect the health and safety of the student and/or the pregnancy (such as allowing the student to maintain a safe distance from hazardous substances);
      2. Making modifications to the physical environment (such as accessible seating);
      3. Providing mobility support;
      4. Extending deadlines and/or allowing the student to make up tests or assignments missed for pregnancy-related absences;
      5. Offering remote learning options;
      6. Excusing medically-necessary absences (this must be granted, irrespective of classroom attendance requirements set by a faculty member, department, or division);
      7. Implementing Incomplete Grades for classes that will be resumed at a future date; or

      8. Granting a Request for an Exception to the Withdrawal Policy.

      Nothing in this Policy requires modification to the essential elements of any academic program.

2. Modified Academic Responsibilities for Parenting Students
   1. Students with child caretaking/parenting responsibilities who wish to remain engaged in their coursework while adjusting their academic responsibilities because of the birth or adoption of a child or placement of a foster child may request an academic modification period during the first six (6) months from the time the child entered the home. Extensions may be granted when additional time is required by medical necessity or extraordinary caretaking/parenting responsibilities.
   2. During the modification period, the student’s academic course requirements will be adjusted and deadlines postponed as appropriate, in collaboration among the Title IX office, the student’s academic advisor, and the appropriate academic department(s).
   3. Students seeking a period of modified academic responsibilities may consult with their academic advisor or with the Title IX office to determine appropriate academic supportive measures requests. The Title IX office will communicate all requests under this policy to students’ academic advisors and coordinate accommodation-related efforts with the advisors unless the students specifically requests that their advisors be excluded. Students are encouraged to work with their advisors and faculty members to reschedule course assignments, lab hours, examinations, or other requirements, and/or to reduce their overall course load, as appropriate, once authorization is received from the Title IX office. If, for any reason, caretaking/parenting students are not able to work with their advisors/faculty members to obtain appropriate modifications, students should alert the Title IX office as soon as possible, and the office will help facilitate needed supportive measures and modifications.
   4. In timed degree, certification or credentialing programs, students who seek modifications upon the birth or placement of their child will be allowed an extension of up to six (6) months to prepare for and take preliminary and qualifying examinations, and an extension of up to six (6) months toward normative time to degree while in candidacy, to the extent those deadlines are controlled by UMGC. Longer extensions may be granted in extenuating circumstances.
   5. Students can request modified academic responsibilities under this Policy regardless of whether they elect to take a leave of absence.
   6. While receiving academic modifications, students will remain registered and retain benefits accordingly.
3. Harassment and Retaliation
   1. Harassment of any member of UMGC community based on sex, pregnancy, or parental status is prohibited. Faculty, staff, and other UMGC employees are prohibited from interfering with students’ right to medically related absences, seek supportive measures, or otherwise exercise their rights under this Policy.
   2. Faculty, staff, and other UMGC employees are prohibited from retaliating against students for exercising the rights articulated by this policy, including imposing or threatening to impose negative educational outcomes because students request leave or accommodation, file a complaint, or otherwise exercise their rights under this Policy.

1. UMGC Policy VI-1.00 - Non-Discrimination and Anti-Harassment
2. UMGC Policy VI-1.60 - Title IX and Sexual Misconduct
3. UMGC Policy V-1.30 - Student Reasonable Accommodation

4. UMGC Policy VI-1.02 - Workplace Reasonable Accommodations

   Inquiries concerning the application of this Policy may be referred to the Title IX Coordinator. Nothing in this Policy is intended to supersede or conflict with any federal compliance requirements.