Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex – including pregnancy, pregnancy-related conditions, and parental status – in educational programs and activities and in employment. 

Specifically, pregnancy-related conditions include childbirth, lactation, miscarriage, false pregnancy, termination of pregnancy, or recovery periods. Parental status includes individuals who birth a child, spouses or partners of individuals anticipating or recently experiencing the birth of a child; parents who adopt a child; or parents by means of surrogacy.

UC Santa Barbara (“UCSB”) prohibits discrimination and harassment of any person on the basis of their protected class status, which is an identity protected by federal or state law, including the following: race, religion, color, citizenship, national or ethnic origin, ancestry, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, lactation or related medical conditions), gender, gender identity, gender expression, gender transition, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability (including having a history of a disability or being regarded as being disabled), medical condition (cancer-related or genetic characteristics), predisposing genetic information (including family medical history), marital status, age (at least 40 years of age), or veteran or military status.

UC Santa Barbara is committed to ensuring an inclusive and accessible environment for pregnant and parenting students.

The Title IX Compliance & Discrimination and Harassment Prevention (Title IX/DHP) Office can assist students and employees who need assistance while pregnant and/or parenting. This office also responds to reports of discrimination on the basis of pregnancy or parental status. Please contact us if you would like to schedule an information session.
 

Rights

Pregnant students can participate in UCSB programs and activities without submitting a doctor’s note or certification. However, a doctor’s note may be required for pregnancy disability-based accommodations and for some reasonable modifications to determine what is reasonable and necessary.

Pregnant students and employees are provided the same special services (e.g., excused absences, appropriate academic adjustments, alternative work assignments) as those with temporary disabilities or medical conditions.

Student absences due to pregnancy or childbirth should be excused for as long as a doctor says they are medically necessary.

Students and employees are entitled to return to the same academic, extracurricular, and employment status that they held before their medical leave began.

Instructors may not refuse to allow students to submit work after a deadline missed due to pregnancy or childbirth. Students must also be allowed to make up any participation or attendance credits missed due to pregnancy or childbirth.

 

Available Modifications to Academic or Work Environments

Pregnant students and employees are entitled to reasonable modifications. Some examples of such modifications may include:

  • Academic: alternative testing times/locations, note-taking assistance, frequent class and exam breaks for restroom/health/lactation needs, voluntary leave of absence, alternatives for missed work, excused class absences for pregnancy-related conditions, medical appointments or to care for sick children; access to online or homebound education; changes in schedule or course sequence; timeline extensions for coursework or exams; counseling;
  • Facility access: lactation rooms, campus overnight lockers, temporary elevator, changes in physical space or supplies (i.e., desk and chair); sit/stand options;
  • Housing: the opportunity to apply for Family Housing; and
  • Employment: modified work duties, workstation adjustments, voluntary leave of absence, frequent breaks for restroom/lactation needs, new uniform size, excused absences to pregnancy-related conditions, medical appointments, or to care for sick children.

 

How to Request Pregnancy and Parenting Modifications

Pregnant and parenting students and employees may request reasonable modifications from the Title IX/DHP Office for general pregnancy and parenting needs. The availability of such modifications will be assessed on a case-by-case basis by the Title IX/DHP Office, in consultation with relevant UCSB stakeholders. 

Students and employees may submit requests for pregnancy and/or parenting-related modifications by email to: titleix-tixoffice@ucsb.edu. 

Modifications that would fundamentally alter the essential academic or work requirements of a course or program or lower academic standards, as well as those that constitute an undue administrative burden, will not be deemed to be reasonable. 

Pregnant and parenting students and employees have the discretion to accept or decline an offered reasonable modification.

 

When to Request Disability Accommodations

While most pregnancies do not constitute a disability, a pregnant student experiencing complications that impact major life activities may be eligible for disability-based accommodations, so long as the requested accommodations do not fundamentally alter the nature of the class or workplace or constitute an undue burden.

Student Disability Accommodations

The UCSB Disabled Students Program (“DSP”) Office provides reasonable accommodations for students with disabilities. 

Pregnant students who wish to seek disability-based accommodations may learn more information at https://dsp.sa.ucsb.edu/. 

Employee Disability Accommodations

The UCSB Human Resources (“HR”) Department offers assistance to pregnant employees with workplace accommodations, and is available to any staff, faculty, academic, or student employee with pregnancy-related limitations or restrictions. 

A pregnant employee requesting an accommodation should notify their supervisor or Chair of their request. No diagnosis or confidential medical information should be shared. 

A UCSB Workplace Accommodation Specialist within the HR Department can assist a pregnant employee and their supervisor explore possible reasonable accommodations using the interactive process. Please visit https://www.hr.ucsb.edu/hr-units/employee-services/workplace-accommodations and submit a service ticket with this request. 
 

Reporting

When a pregnant student informs an employee of their pregnancy or pregnancy-related conditions, the employee must inform the pregnant student of:

  • The Title IX Officer’s contact information; and
  • That the Title IX Officer can coordinate specific actions to prevent sex discrimination and ensure the student’s equal access to UCSB’s education program or activity.

The UCSB Title IX Officer is Ariana Alvarez and can be reached at 805.893.2701 or titleix-tixoffice@ucsb.edu.
 
To make a report of potential discrimination or harassment on the basis of pregnancy, pregnancy-related condition, or parental status, submit a report to the Title IX/DHP Office at: https://titleix-dhp.ucsb.edu/.

To file a grievance with the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR), submit a report at www.ed.gov/ocr/complaintintro.html within 180 days of when the discrimination took place. You can submit a grievance with OCR even if you have not filed a complaint with UCSB’s Title IX/DHP Office.
 

Additional Resources