Stronger Tomorrows Program
Title IX federal regulations protect pregnant students
All students have the right to an education. If you are pregnant, were pregnant, recently have given birth or experienced the loss of a pregnancy, you have protections under Title IX. Schools are required to provide pregnant students the same opportunities to activities and programs as other students and accommodate for pregnancy and related absences as medically necessary.
Case Manager Contact
- Adriana Tebbe
- Title IX Case Manager
- tebbea@myips.org
IPS Stronger Tomorrows Program
The Title IX Office of Indianapolis Public Schools implemented the Stronger Tomorrows program to work alongside school staff in supporting and implementing accommodations for pregnant and parenting students. The Stronger Tomorrows program provides guidance, support, and information for expectant and parenting students at Indianapolis Public Schools to help parenting students stay on track to graduate.
Stronger Tomorrows strives to:
- streamline resources and guidance across the district
- improve attendance and graduation rates,
- maintain the health of the student and their child,
- prepare students for high school graduation and post-secondary planning,
- and improve parent and family engagement
If you are an IPS student who is pregnant, let school staff (teacher, social worker, dean, someone you feel comfortable with) know you are or think you may be pregnant. Once a student is referred, the Case Manager will meet and work with the student at their IPS school as they work toward graduating from an IPS school.
Please utilize this referral form to refer a pregnant or parenting student to Stronger Tomorrows.
**School staff can make a report in Guardian as a Title IX report, a referral form will not be needed.
Our Case Manager works at IPS schools through the week. Find her current schedule below. (please note, our Case Manager will visit other IPS schools through the week as well if the student attends different IPS school)
- Mondays: Crispus Attucks High School
- Tuesdays: Crispus Attucks and George Washington High School
- Wednesdays: Arsenal Tech High School/Simon Youth Graduation Academy
- Thursdays: Arsenal Tech and Shortridge High School
- Fridays: Remote
Reasonable Accommodations
Students have the right and responsibility to attend school regardless of their pregnancy, parenting or marital status. The district will educate expectant and parenting students and will provide reasonable accommodations to support and encourage all expectant and parenting students to obtain their high school diploma. As you move through the pregnancy, your needs for accommodations may change and evolve.
Here are a few examples of accommodations:
- Bathroom breaks as needed.
- School’s may have special medical badges for students to wear to alert school staff that this student is allowed frequent bathroom breaks.
- Desk arrangement or adjustments.
- Using a table and chair instead of a small desk in classes.
- Excused absences for medical appointments.
- Expectant and parenting students are given excused absences from school to attend to their own health care, their child’s medical care, or other pregnancy/parenting-related appointments or emergencies.
- If an extended time away from school is necessary due to pregnancy, childbirth, and recovery from childbirth, the absences will be excused and their educational status shall not be negatively affected.
- Assignment extension.
- Students with excused absences would have an opportunity to turn in assignments/classwork at a later date.
Accommodations are meant to remove barriers in the classroom, school or society. Students have the right to continue their participation in extracurricular activities and in their schools.
- Pregnant students have a right to continue to play or join any sport they would otherwise normally be allowed to play.
- Coaches cannot bench pregnant students because of their pregnancy.
- Schools cannot deny a pregnant student’s participation in physical education, sports, or other activities.
- Schools cannot force pregnant students to unenroll or transfer to an alt-ed program.
- Although IPS offers additional alternative programs for secondary education, all schools will make pregnancy-related accommodations so that students can stay in their school of choice.