Pregnancy Discrimination

Pregnancy discrimination, although illegal, remains a problem for both students and teachers in U.S. [Page 1685]school settings. This entry provides a brief overview of forms of discrimination—expulsion, stigma, harassment, isolation, and racial segregation—and highlights underlying attitudes and assumptions that continue to hamper the quest for full equality for pregnant and parenting students. It also reviews the specific requirements of Title IX legislation and special pregnancy programs that evolved in its wake, and how these programs relate to the ongoing debate over equal versus special treatment. It then considers pregnancy discrimination against teachers, acknowledging that it operates differently in the context of higher education than in K–12 settings. Solutions need to equalize opportunities for women and girls—as students, schoolteachers, and faculty members—to ensure that they do ...