January 27, 2026

The Honorable John Thune
Majority Leader
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable Charles Schumer
Minority Leader
United States
Washington, DC 20510

Dear Majority Leader Thune and Minority Leader Schumer,

We, the undersigned organizations, represent a diverse group of advocates and experts dedicated to advancing civil rights protections and institutional resources for pregnant and parenting students. We write to share our opposition to the Pregnant Students’ Rights Act—a thinly veiled anti-abortion law which would not address the key barriers to pregnant students’ educational attainment, but would instead further shame and stigmatize people for their pregnancy outcomes.

This bill that purports to “protect the rights of pregnant students” falls far short of the protections that are actually necessary for pregnant and parenting students and their children.

More than 3 million undergraduate students in the United States are parents, which is nearly one in five. Despite earning higher GPAs than non-parenting students, parenting college students are less likely to graduate. This is not due to personal failing, but rather a lack of institutional support and recognition of the unique barriers to college completion for parenting students. Pregnant and parenting students often experience feeling disconnected from the larger education community and are not aware of who they can speak to when they experience discrimination because of their pregnancy or parenting status.

Students who are pregnant and/or parents deserve to complete their education free from bias and harassment, in environments that support them on their educational journeys. Unfortunately, pregnant and parenting students are routinely stigmatized, discriminated against, and denied the resources, accommodations, and support they need to thrive in their educational institutions. Many pregnant students risk their health or the health of their pregnancies, because they are unaware of their right to accommodations, including leaves of absence, lactation accommodations, academic adjustments—including virtual learning and extensions on completing assignments—financial aid eligibility, and child care. Ensuring that students are informed about their educational institution’s policies that can further their academic achievement while also supporting their health and caregiving needs is an important step in addressing the systemic barriers that can keep pregnant and parenting students from graduating.

Unfortunately, the proposed bill would do little to mitigate these harms and instead risks further stigmatizing pregnant and parenting students. The proposed bill relies on anti-abortion language and seeks to limit students’ reproductive healthcare decisions. This language is part of a political ploy that the anti-abortion movement hopes to use to further its case for a national abortion ban now that the Supreme Court has overturned the federal constitutional right to abortion care as established in Roe v. Wade. Furthermore, the bill language undermines existing legal protections under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (Title IX) for pregnant students experiencing a range of outcomes related to their pregnancies.

Our belief in personal autonomy and respect for every person’s capacity to make their own decisions—including whether to continue their pregnancy or not—is at the core of our work to support pregnant and parenting students. This bill does not contain any meaningful supports that would actually help pregnant and parenting students be able to remain enrolled and meet their educational goals.

Such supports are critically needed, and include:

• Explicit protections under Title IX
• Nondiscrimination protections at the state and local level
• Accessible and affordable child care, and increased funding for on-campus child care
• Access to early education and pre-kindergarten services
• Transportation access
• Support for basic needs, including food, housing, clothing, etc.
• Flexible school attendance policies
• Lactation accommodations
• Less stigma and shame around young parenthood
• Increased accountability measures for institutions who fail to protect pregnant and parenting students
• Federal funding to support campus Title IX offices’ work to prevent and investigate discrimination against pregnant students
• Mandatory data collection on student parents to help institutions better target supports and meet the unique needs of this population

As mentioned above, pregnant and parenting students do face stigma and need adequate resources to combat discrimination. However, the Pregnant Students’ Rights Act contains little more than a hollow directive for these students to file complaints with the Department of Education, which the Trump Administration has been systematically decimating since taking office, even promising to dismantle the agency.

A series of Executive Orders issued early in 2025 substantially impacted the Department’s enforcement of civil rights laws, by prioritizing weaponizing these laws to advance discrimination instead of protecting students, including pregnant and parenting students. Education Secretary Linda McMahon fired nearly half of Department staff—with the Office for Civil Rights (OCR), which is responsible for ensuring schools comply with federal civil rights laws, being particularly impacted. And Secretary McMahon also closed most of OCR’s twelve regional offices that have responsibility to investigate alleged violations of civil rights laws. Directing pregnant students to an institution that has been gutted by the current Administration is little more than lip service.

There is an alternate path forward. We applaud the bipartisan legislation put forward by your colleagues in the House of Representatives, Lucy McBath, Deborah Ross, and Don Bacon: the Understanding Student Parent Outcomes Act of 2025. This bill would make a meaningful difference by allowing essential data collection on the barriers to college graduation for pregnant and parenting students. Legislation like this is necessary to ensure that pregnant and parenting students can complete their education and that they and their families are protected. Although pregnant and parenting students face many roadblocks, they can thrive when their educational institutions listen to them, support them, and prevent discrimination against them. While balancing their health, caregiving responsibilities, and educational goals is challenging, these added responsibilities often renew students’ dedication to their studies. While the decision to parent and/or continue pregnancy is a personal one, the barriers that pregnant and parenting students face are not. This proposed bill would reinforce structural and institutional bias and scrutiny of the decisions students make regarding their personal lives.

We welcome the opportunity to have an open dialogue with the sponsors of the “Pregnant Students’ Rights Act” and with any other members of Congress who are ready to be the champion that pregnant and parenting students in our nation need and deserve.

Sincerely,

A Better Me Learning
Advocates for Youth
AFT, AFL-CIO
All* In Action Fund
Alliance to Reclaim Our Schools
American Association of University Women (AAUW)
American Atheists
American Civil Liberties Union
American Humanist Association
Center for Reproductive Rights
Charlotte’s Web Thoughts
Clearinghouse on Women’s Issues
End Rape On Campus
Equal Rights Advocates
Feminist Majority
Gender Justice
Girls for Gender Equity
Guttmacher Institute
Healthy Teen Network
Ibis Reproductive Health
Institute for Women’s Policy Research
Japanese American Citizens League
Just Solutions
Justice and Joy National Collaborative
Know Your IX
Legal Momentum, the Women’s Legal Defense & Education Fund
MANA, A National Latina Organization
Men4Choice
MomsRising
National Council of Jewish Women
National Education Association
National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association
National Institute for Reproductive Health
National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice
National Network of Abortion Funds
National Organization for Women
National Organization of API Ending Sexual Violence
National Partnership for Women & Families
National Women’s Law Center Action Fund
National Women’s Political Caucus
New America Higher Education Policy Program
Physicians for Reproductive Health
Planned Parenthood Federation of America
Positive Women’s Network-USA
Power to Decide
Public Counsel
Public Justice
Reproaction
Reproductive Freedom for All
Rocky Mountain Victim Law Center
SIECUS: Sex Ed for Social Change
Stop Sexual Assault in Schools
Tahirih Justice Center
The Advocacy Institute
The Pregnant Scholar at WorkLife Law
Transgender Law Center
UltraViolet Action
Union for Reform Judaism
University Survivors Movement
Women Employed
Women of Reform Judaism
Women’s Law Project