Parenting Students Policy
Pregnant & Parenting Students Support Services
Texas Southern University provides support services and resources to help pregnant and parenting students have access to education and opportunities to fulfill their academic requirements.
A parenting student is defined as a student, who is the parent or legal guardian of a child under 18 years of age.
The Title IX Coordinator is responsible for providing information and supportive assistance to current and incoming pregnant students. Students seeking information should contact the Title IX Coordinator.
- Dr. Cynthia Buckley
Title IX Coordinator & Parenting Student Liason
Cynthia.Buckley@tsu.edu
Dr. Buckley also provides current and incoming parenting students with university information regarding supportive services and resources.
Texas Ed. Code. § 51.982 (SB 412) prohibits discrimination against students due to their pregnancy or parental status. A parenting student under this state law is defined as a TSU student who is the parent of a child or children under the age of 18. The prohibition against discrimination extends to a prohibition against being forced out of school; limiting their studies; attending an alternative program; changing their major, degree, or certificate program; and being forced into or out of any particular course, activity, or program based solely on their parenting status or “issues related to the student’s pregnancy or parenting.
How is this different from Title IX?
Unlike Title IX, which typically protects students against sex-based discrimination during their pregnancy and up to eight weeks after the birth of the child, this state law protects parenting students of children under 18 from discrimination in their academic life regardless of whether the discrimination they face is sex-based or not. And, by including “issues related” to pregnancy and parenting, the law provides broad coverage.
Campus Resources
- Find Support: https://www.tsu.edu/student-services/find-support/
- Risk Management: https://www.tsu.edu/about/administration/office-of-compliance/risk-management/student-health-insurance
Undergraduate and graduate students may complete this form to register with the Title IX Coordinator.