PREGNANT & PARENTING STUDENT RIGHTS
Kellogg Community College is committed to creating an accessible and inclusive environment for pregnant and parenting students.
Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 prohibits discrimination based on sex in education programs or activities including academic, educational, extracurricular, athletic, and other programs or activities of schools. This prohibition includes discrimination against pregnant and parenting students.
Students may request adjustments based on general pregnancy needs or accommodations based on a pregnancy-related complication. See below for more information on each process.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Does KCC have Nursing Mothers rooms available?
Any nursing mother who is a KCC community member (student, faculty, staff, contract employee, campus visitor or spouse) may use one of the College’s Nursing Mothers rooms. Nursing Mothers rooms are located at each of the College’s campuses in Albion, Battle Creek, Coldwater and Hastings.
Each Nursing Mothers room is equipped with a sink, mirror, seating, table and electrical outlet. Users are required to provide their own pumps and accessories, and are expected to clean spills and dispose of trash properly after each use. Kellogg Community College will not be held responsible for the security or integrity of breast milk, nor does it provide storage facilities for breast milk.
Room are located:
| Main Campus in Battle Creek, 3rd Floor Classroom Building | Eastern Academic Center in Albion, Main Office |
| Fehsenfeld Center in Hasting, Main Office | Grahl Center in Coldwater, Main Office |
| Regional Manufacturing Technology Center in Battle Creek, Main Office |
How do I request adjustment(s) based on a pregnancy-related condition?
The first step to initiating this process is to complete a request form. The purpose of this form is to assist the College in determining whether, or to what extent, a pregnancy adjustment can be granted.
May a college (professor, staff member, etc.) ask or require a pregnant student to obtain a doctor’s note before allowing them to attend school? What if this request is because its late in the pregnancy and/or the college is worried about the student’s health or safety?
No. Colleges (professors, staff members, or otherwise employed by the institution) cannot require a pregnant student to produce a doctor’s note in order to stay in school or participate in activities, unless the same requirement to obtain a doctor’s note applies to all students being treated by a doctor.
Does a pregnant student have the right to participate in co-curricular or off campus opportunities sponsored by the College?
Yes. The college must allow pregnant students to continue participating in off-campus programs and any programs sponsored by the institution. For example, if a program at the College presents opportunities for an internship, the college cannot deny the pregnant student participation based on their pregnancy. In addition, a college cannot require a doctor’s note for this participation, unless the college requires one for all students who have a medical condition that requires treatment by the doctor.
Does a college have to excuse a student’s absences due to pregnancy or childbirth?
Yes. Title IX requires a college to excuse a student’s absences due to pregnancy or related conditions, including recovery from childbirth, for as long as the student’s doctor deems the absences to be medically necessary. When the student returns to college, they must be reinstated to the status they held when the leave began, which should include giving them the opportunity to make up any work missed. A college may offer the student alternatives to making up missed work, such as a retaking a semester, taking part in an online course, or allowing additional time in a program to continue at the same pace and finish at a later date, especially after longer periods of leave.
May a faculty member require that students disclose a pregnancy to them? What if the student appears visibly pregnant, has not disclosed the pregnancy, and the professor is concerned about the student’s health and well-being and wants to make sure they are able to complete the work for the course?
No. The college must leave it up to the student to decide what is disclosed. While the college must offer the student rights should they disclose, no one can force a student to share the status of their pregnancy. In addition, the college must leave it up to the student and their doctor to decide whether to take time off, miss classes, when to return after giving birth, etc. even if the faculty member is concerned for the health and well-being of the student.
What if some professors have their own policies about class attendance and make-up work?
Colleges and Universities must ensure that the policies and practices of individual professors do not discriminate against pregnant students. For example,
- Professors may not refuse to allow a student to submit work after a deadline that they missed because of absences due to pregnancy or childbirth.
- If the grading process is based in part on class attendance or participation, the student should be allowed to earn the credits they missed so that they can be reinstated to the status they had before the leave.