Implementing Title IX Protections for Pregnant and Parenting College Students: Using Women’s Athletics as a Model for Success by Lori Rhea

Photo by Honey Yanibel Minaya Cruz on Unsplash

Following the 1972 passage of Title IX, institutions, policymakers, and interest groups collaborated to promote women’s participation and success in education. Scholars credit Title IX with opening doors for women in collegiate athletics, rigorous academic tracks, and higher-paying fields once dominated by men (Tang et al. 2022; Winslow 2016). Concerning Title IX, Olympic gold medalist Nancy Hogshead-Makar remarked, “Other than the constitutional right to vote, possibly no other piece of legislation has had a greater effect on women’s lives than Title IX” (Nixon Foundation 2022, 1). 

While it is true that following the passage of Title IX, certain groups of women gained education benefits, other groups of college-going women benefited less. Based on degree completion, women athletes, White women, and non-parenting women have benefited more than non-athletes, racially minoritized women, and parenting students. See Table 1. This article explains the education barriers experienced by pregnant and parenting students and suggests a model of success. 

Table 1

Six-Year Degree Completion Rates of Select Undergraduate Student Groups

Student Group	Six-Year Degree Completion Rate
Women collegiate athletes	75%1
Students who are White women	67%2
All students who are non-parents	67%2
Students who are Black women	44%3
Students who are caregivers to a child 18 years or younger (70% women6)	40%2
Students who are single mothers	28%4
First generation students whose parents’ highest level of education is high school	20%5

---

Key Barriers for Pregnant and Parenting Students

Though parenting students often display competitive academic aptitude, high motivation, and strong class engagement (Alarcon & Edwards 2013; Anderson & Green 2022; Johnson & Nussbaum 2012), complex barriers influence their persistence. In addition to financial need, two barriers are frequently reported in the literature. The first is a lack of awareness of civil rights protections and institutional services offered (Field 2022; Lee 2023; Lewis & Haynes 2023; Mason & Younger 2014; Riley et al. 2022). The second is “time poverty” or a lack of time to attend class and fulfill coursework while also juggling childcare, work, and personal care (Conway et al. 2021; Dillon 2023; Wladis et al. 2018). Removing financial, communication, and time barriers is crucial to parenting students persistence.

Degree Attainment High Stakes for Parenting Students

Although lifetime earnings vary by factors such as field of study, gender, and race, level of education attainment overall is associated with employment and economic security (Carnevale et al. 2022; Oh et al. 2021; Pandey et al. 2006; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics 2023). Students who leave college before completing degrees often struggle financially. They experience less access to higher-paying jobs (Carnevale et al. 2021). Additionally, they often carry student loan debt that they struggle to repay without stable employment (Barshay 2017). A systematic review of postsecondary education and job skills training programs found that obtaining a two or four-year credential increased job prospects and contributed to an exit from poverty for low-income individuals (Oh et al. 2021). Moreover, people with a bachelor’s degree earn 75% more during their career (median $2.8 million) than those with a high school diploma (Carnevale et al. 2021). 

When degree completion is inaccessible to parenting students, particularly single mothers, women remain in low-wage jobs, and the cycle of food, housing, health, and job insecurity continues (Katz 2019). Studies have found that 90% of single-mother undergraduates, the majority of whom are first-generation and racially minoritized students, live in or near poverty (Cruse et al. 2019; Cruse et al. 2020; Green 2022; Lewis & Haynes 2023). Strikingly, 24% of children in the United States now live in solo female-headed households, representing 60% of children in poverty (U.S. Census Bureau 2021, Table 10). Removing barriers to degree completion for parenting students has the potential to influence multiple generations. 

Three Aims of Title IX Pregnant and Parenting Student Legislation

Title IX declares that no person in the United States will be denied, based on sex, the benefits of an educational program, and specifically identifies pregnant and parenting students as a protected class of students (U. S. Department of Education 2021). When degree completion is considered one of, if not the, primary benefit of higher education, it makes sense that Title IX is intended to increase graduation rates among underrepresented students in this class. Institutions interpret and implement Title IX in different ways, but the policy contains three main provisions.

Title IX requires institutions to provide two protections and suggests a third constellation of services. Institutions must provide anti-discrimination measures specific to a student’s pregnancy and parenting status and offer pregnancy accommodation (e.g., flexible attendance, extended due dates). Though not mandated, Title IX encourages institutions to offer parenting student services that support student retention (Duncan & Galanter 2013). Some of the suggested practices include data collection on and from parenting students, effective communication of services, lactation rooms, social support networks, family housing, and affordable childcare. Some institutions interpret the suggested parenting services as part of the spirit of Title IX.

In contrast, other institutions have fulfilled the minimum Title IX requirements, such as designating a Title IX coordinator and posting anti-discrimination and accommodation procedures. For example, only 47% of public four-year institutions and 35% of public two-year institutions offer on-campus childcare, even though many are comparably sized and resourced institutions (National Center for Education Statistics 2023). Additionally, unless an institution has taken intentional steps to connect pregnant and parenting students to services, most students remain unaware of these protections (Field 2022; Lewis & Haynes 2023; Mason & Younger 2014; Riley et al. 2022). As a result, despite the three stated aims of Title IX, many parenting students continue to struggle to access education and complete degrees.

Considering a Successful Support Protocol: Athletics

Based on the evidence of high degree completion rates among female athletes (75% six-year degree completion rates, NCAA, 2022), who also have additional demands on their time and yet experience high student outcomes, athletics programs could offer a model of successful support for parenting students. Reports suggest that women’s athletics departments address student barriers to finances, time, and information. They do so through personal engagement, wraparound support, and adequate financial aid (Lopes Dos Santos 2020).

Addressing Communication Barriers           

To address information barriers, student-facing faculty such as athletic academic advisors receive professional development so that they can inform students of support opportunities such as advising and health services (Grandy et al. 2016). Departmental collaborations are established, such as between athletics, health, and equal opportunity services, so that faculty can work together to support students. Additionally, for pregnant and parenting student athletes, an athletics department liaison is designated to connect students to protections and services. For example, one study related that athletics departments take responsibility for informing faculty and students of Title IX pregnancy and parenting protections and connecting students to support. Riley and colleagues (2022) shared the process at one institution:

The athletics staff established a procedure for providing assistance. Within a week of being informed about [a student-athlete’s] pregnancy, the student’s coach arranged for an in-person meeting between an athletic healthcare administrator and the student-athlete . . . The athletic staff’s swift procedure—connecting the student with her rights and a knowledgeable professional—made a lasting impression on her, boosted her confidence and perseverance, and made her feel continually included (Riley et al. 2022, 241).

Addressing Time and Financial Barriers        

Athletics departments address time poverty and financial barriers in two important ways. They recognize when students are carrying double burdens and provide wraparound support on schedules that work for students (Lopes Dos Santos 2020). Secondly, they provide sufficient financial assistance so that students can focus on school and athletics without the additional time burden of employment (Osborne 2014; Turick et al. 2021). 

Whether time poverty for student athletes results from the double demand of academics and athletics or the triple demand of academics, athletics, and parenting, athletics departments provide students with needed services in ways that are convenient for the student. Rather than demanding that burdened students take on more burden in the form of time and effort navigating inflexible institutional support services, athletics departments flexibly work around athletes’ schedules (Lopes Dos Santos 2020; Turick et al. 2021). Services such as priority advising and registration, personal training, and health counseling are tailored to students’ schedules (Lopes Dos Santos 2020). Similar innovative support models could reduce time constraints and burdens experienced by non-athlete parenting students’ (Ryberg et al. 2021; Schumacher 2013).

Another way athletics departments address time poverty is by providing enough financial assistance so that student employment is unnecessary (Osborne 2014; Turick et al. 2021). It would likely not be possible for student-athletes to participate in school and athletics if they had to meet the government’s requirement of working 30 hours per week to receive aid such as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. However, that is what is asked of many parenting students who already carry a double load of childcare and school (Katz 2019). Though not specifically related to athletics programs, affordable campus childcare is a critical component for addressing financial and time barriers that complements the athletics model of student support (Carter 2016; Mason 2022; Monroe Community College 2013; Pendleton & Atella 2020). 

Envisioning Success Like That of Women’s Athletics

Since the inception of Title IX, women’s participation in collegiate athletics has increased 600% and many of the women who participated have achieved distinguished careers (Billie Jean King 2017; NCAA 2022). This advancement resulted from specific institutional goals that were time-bound, evaluated, and enforced by the law. Title IX required defined outcomes, compliance reviews, and a close point of contact (U.S. Department of Education 2023). Moreover, women’s athletics grew from generous expenditures once considered outrageous to spend on women. With the backing of the law and support from powerful allies, institutions built new stadiums, hired coaches, offered scholarships, and recruited athletes (NCAA, 2022). 

Promoting women’s athletics was complex, multi-faceted, and costly, but that did not prevent enforcement of the law. In the same way, support measures for pregnant and parenting students that today seem too costly or complex for many institutions must be enforced by the law and supported by allies until they become customary. One avenue of support women’s athletics enjoys is the backing of high-profile influencers such as the Women’s Sports Foundation (WSF 2022). Perhaps the women who benefited from Title IX and are now educators, scientists, lawyers, doctors, professional athletes, politicians, and business owners can push for greater equity-based compliance of Title IX protections for pregnant and parenting students.

Whether parenting students want to earn a degree online or in-person, attend a two or four-year institution, attend full or part-time, or study in a desired discipline, Title IX protects their educational pursuits. Today, Title IX policy implementation falls short of removing barriers for pregnant and parenting students. However, institutions have a blueprint of student success from athletics. To increase academic outcomes of parenting students, provide them with the same support athletes receive: personal engagement, wraparound support, effective communication of services, and adequate financial aid so that they can attend to their education while also caring for their families.

About the Scholar

References

Alarcon, Gene M., and Jean M. Edwards. 2013. “Ability and Motivation: Assessing Individual Factors That Contribute to University Retention.” Journal of Educational Psychology 105, no. 1: 129–37. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0028496

Anderson, Theresa, and Autumn Green. 2022. “Roadmap for Change to Support Pregnant and Parenting Students.” Urban Institute, December 30, 2022. https://www.urban.org/research/publication/roadmap-change-support-pregnant-and-parenting-students

Barshay, Jill. 2017. “Federal Data Shows 3.9 million Students Dropped Out of College with Debt in 2015 and 2016.”  The Hechinger Report, November 6, 2017. https://hechingerreport.org/federal-data-shows-3-9-million-students-dropped-college-debt-2015-2016/

Billie Jean King Enterprises. 2017. “Impact of Title IX on Women’s Sports.” Billie Jean King, September 15, 2017. https://www.billiejeanking.com/equality/title-ix/

Carnevale, Anthony P., Kathryn Peltier Campbell, Ban Cheah, Artem Gulish, and Jeff Strohl. 2022. “Executive Summary: The Effects of Race, Class, and Gender.” Georgetown University McCourt School of Public Policy, May 19, 2022. https://cew.georgetown.edu/cew-reports/pathway/

Carnevale, Anthony P., Ban Cheah, and Emma Wenzinger. 2021. “The College Payoff.” Georgetown University McCourt School of Public Policy. https://cew.georgetown.edu/cew-reports/collegepayoff2021/

Carter, Barbara. 2016. “Impact of a Student-Scheduled Child Care Program on Parents’ Educational Goals.” Administrative Issues Journal of Education Practice and Research 6, no. 2: 13–29. http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1137530.pdf

Conway, Katherine M., Claire Wladis, and Alyse C. Hachey. 2021. “Time Poverty and Parenthood: Who Has Time for College?” AERA Open 7, May 19, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1177/23328584211011608

Cruse, Lindsey R., Jessica Milli, Susana Contreras-Mendez, Tessa Holtzman, and Barbara Gault. 2019. “Investing in Single Mothers’ Higher Education (IWPR #R600).” Institute for Women’s Policy Research, December 2019. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED612588

Cruse, Lindsey R., Susana Contreras-Mendez, and Tessa Holtzman. 2020. “Student Parents in the Covid-19 Pandemic (IWPR #C492).” Institute for Women’s Policy Research, April 14, 2020. https://iwpr.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/COVID19-Student-Parents-Fact-Sheet.pdf

Dillon, Haley Myers. 2023. “Justice for Moms in College: Investigating Factors that Influence Student-Parents’ Degree Completion Timelines.” PhD Diss., Order No. 30486553, California State University, Sacramento, Spring, 2023.http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.lib.uh.edu/dissertations-theses/justice-moms-college-investigating-factors-that/docview/2830095205/se-2

Duncan, Arne and Seth Galanter. 2013. “Supporting the Academic Success of Pregnant and Parenting Students”. U.S. Department of Education, June 2013. https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/pregnancy.pdf

Field, Kelly. 2022. “Colleges Brace for More Pregnant and Parenting Students.” The Chronicle of Higher Education, November 21, 2022. https://www.chronicle.com/article/colleges-brace-for-more-pregnant-and-parenting-students

Fry, Richard. 2021. “First-Generation College Graduates Lag Behind Their Peers on Key Economic Outcomes.” Pew Research Center, May 18, 2021. https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2021/05/18/first-generation-college-graduates-lag-behind-their-peers-on-key-economic-outcomes/

Grandy, Jeff, Nancy Lough, and Chyna Miller. 2016. “Improving Student-Athlete Academic Success: Evaluation of Learning Support Tools Utilized by Academic Advisors for Athletics.” Journal for the Study of Sports and Athletes in Education 10, no. 3: 199-217. https://doi.org/10.1080/19357397.2016.1258967

Green, Autumn. 2022. “Transforming Data Into Action for Single Mother College Students.” Wellesley Centers for Women, July 1, 2022. https://www.wcwonline.org/2022/transforming-data-into-action-for-single-mother-college-students

Johnson, Marcus Lee, and E. Michael Nussbaum. “Achievement Goals and Coping Strategies: Identifying the Traditional/Nontraditional Students Who Use Them.” Journal of College Student Development 53, no. 1 (2012): 41–54. https://doi.org/10.1353/csd.2012.0002

Katz, Sheila. 2019. Reformed American Dreams: Welfare Mothers, Higher Education, and Activism. Rutgers University Press.

Kruvelis, Melanie, Lindsey R. Cruse, and Barbara Gault. 2017. “Single Mothers in College: Enrollment, Financial Challenges, and the Benefits of Attainment (#C460).” Institute for Women’s Policy Research. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED612464

Lee, Jessica. 2023. “Delayed Title IX Regulations: Our Perspective.” The Pregnant Scholar, June 16, 2023. https://thepregnantscholar.org/delayed-title-ix-regulations-our-perspective/

Lewis, Nicole L., and Devon Haynes. 2023. “National Student-Parent Survey Results and Recommendations.” Generation Hope.https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5ed7f7e97e1c361545410fe4/t/5fb8799dad29aa2b428e74f3/1605925281914/GH_%23StudentParentSuccess+Report_Final.pdf

Lopes Dos Santos, Marcel, Melissa Uftring, Cody A. Stahl, Robert G. Lockie, Brent Alvar, J. Bryan Mann, and J. Jay Dawes. 2020. “Stress in Academic and Athletic Performance in Collegiate Athletes: A Narrative Review of Sources and Monitoring Strategies.” Frontiers in Sports and Active Living 2 (8 May 2020): 42. https://doi.org/10.3389/fspor.2020.00042

Mason, C. Nicole. 2022. “All in Together: The Role of the Family Resource Center in Achieving Student Parent Success at Los Angeles Valley College.” Institute for Women’s Policy Research, July 2022. https://iwpr.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/LAVC-Brief-All-In-Together-FINAL.pdf

Mason, Mary Ann, and Jaclyn Younger. 2014. “Title IX and Pregnancy Discrimination in Higher Education: The New Frontier.” Review of Law and Social Change 38, no. 2: 209-45. https://www.law.berkeley.edu/files/bccj/Title_IX_Law_Review_Article_Final_5.29-3-5.pdf   

Monroe Community College. 2013. “Campus Childcare Center & Student Outcomes.” Inside IR 4, no. 2: 3. Spring 2013. https://www.monroecc.edu/fileadmin/SiteFiles/GeneralContent/depts/research/documents/spring2013newsletter.pdf 

National Center for Education Statistics. 2019. “Indicator 23.”  U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences. https://nces.ed.gov/programs/raceindicators/indicator_red.asp

National Center for Education Statistics. 2022. “Undergraduate Retention and Graduation Rates. Condition of Education.” U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences. https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator/ctr/undergrad-retention-graduation

National Center for Education Statistics. (2023). “Integrated postsecondary education data system (IPEDS). Use the data: Compare institutions.” U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences.https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/use-the-data

Nauen, Elinor. 2008. “A Sporting Chance: Title IX and the Seismic Shift in Women’s Sports.” America Magazine,October 20, 2008. https://www.americamagazine.org/issue/672/article/sporting-chance?gad=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjw98ujBhCgARIsAD7QeAiys1SDo5EmmoPIE9aS9xibAcuvvYcAr6g_r7wUm7U8SEctQ-G3jukaAhqDEALw_wcB

NCAA. 2022. “Title IX 50th Anniversary: The State of Women in College Sport.”https://s3.amazonaws.com/ncaaorg/inclusion/titleix/2022_State_of_Women_in_College_Sports_Report.pdf

Nixon Foundation. 2022. 50^th anniversary of Title IX, June 16, 2022. https://www.nixonfoundation.org/2022/06/50th-anniversary-title-ix/?gclid=CjwKCAjwvJyjBhApEiwAWz2nLZtW22Nc5i3cFw6shS8h_a8LqnxRm3tLxa-v0Bd7SM93hNuW9xp1pBoChfgQAvD_BwE

Oh, Sehun, Diana M. DiNitto, and Yeonwoo Kim. “Exiting Poverty: A Systematic Review of U.S. Postsecondary Education and Job Skills Training Programs in the Post-Welfare Reform Era.” The International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy 41, no. 11/12 (2 November 2021): 1210–26. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijssp-09-2020-0429

Osbourne, Barbara 2014. “The Myth of the Exploited Student-Athlete.” Journal of Intercollegiate Sport 7, no. 2: 143–152. https://doi.org/10.1123/jis.2014-0136

Pandey, Shanta, Min Zhan, and Youngmi Kim. “Bachelor’s Degree for Women with Children.” Equal Opportunities International 25, no. 7 (1 October 2006): 488–505. https://doi.org/10.1108/02610150610714358

Pendleton, Virginia, and Julie Atella. 2020. “Academic outcomes of undergraduate student parents served by the University of Minnesota’s Student Parent Help Center: A Retrospective Study (2000-2018).” For a copy, contact University of Minnesota Student Parent Help Center https://sphc.umn.edu/, or Wilder Research, Saint Paul, Minnesota. www.wilderresearch.org 

Riley, Catherine L., Alexis Hutchinson, and Carley Dix. 2022. Title IX and the Protection of Pregnant and Parenting College Students: Realities and Challenges. New York.

Ryberg, Renee, Rachel Rosenberg, and Jessica Warren. 2021. “Higher Education Can Support Parenting Students and Their Children With Affordable, Equitable Services.” Child Trends, January 11, 2021. https://www.childtrends.org/publications/higher-education-support-parenting-students-and-their-children-with-accessible-equitable-services

Schumacher, Rachel. 2013. “Prepping Colleges for Parents: Strategies for Supporting Student Parent Success in Postsecondary Education.” Institute for Women’s Policy Research, July 2013. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED556710 

Tang, Elizabeth, Amy Katz, Linda Morris, Anne Lieberman, Ally Chelsea Mutual, Sue Klein, Bonnie Washick, Chance Cochran, Ashland Johnson, Elizabeth Kristen, Jennifer Becker, Mimi Lufkin, and Roberta Rincon. 2022. “Title IX at 50: A Report by the National Coalition for Women and Girls.” The National Coalition for Women and Girls in Education, June 2022. https://www.ncwge.org/TitleIX50/NCWGE%20Title%20IX%20At%2050%20-%206.2.22%20vF.pdf

Turick, Robert, Trevor Bopp, and Nicholas Swim. 2021. “How Do I Do Life?” The Challenges of Preparing Student-Athletes for Professional Roles. Journal for the Study of Sports and Athletes in Education 15, no. 1: 71–94. https://doi.org/10.1080/19357397.2019.1669367

U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 2023. “Education Pays 2022.” Career Outlook.https://www.bls.gov/careeroutlook/2023/data-on-display/education-pays.htm

U.S. Census Bureau. 2021. “Poverty Status of Families by Type of Family, Presence of Related Children, Race and Hispanic Origin 1959-2021.” https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/income-poverty/historical-poverty-people.html

U.S. Department of Education. 2021. “Title IX and Sex Discrimination.” August 2021. https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/tix_dis.html

U.S. Department of Education. 2023. “Sex Discrimination: Overview of the Law.” April 13, 2023. https://www2.ed.gov/policy/rights/guid/ocr/sexoverview.html

Williams, Brittani. 2022. “Many Determined College Students Are Also Dedicated Parents: A Preview of the Student Affordability Report.” The Education Trust, August 9, 2022. https://edtrust.org/resource/many-determined-college-students-are-also-dedicated-parents-a-preview-of-the-student-parent-affordability-report/

Williams, Brittani, Jinann Bitar, Portia Polk, Andre Nguyen, Gabriel Montague, Carrie Gillispie, Antoinette Waller, Azeb Tadesse, and Kayla C. Elliott. 2022. “For Student Parents, the Biggest Hurdles to Higher Education are Costs and Finding Childcare.” The Education Trust, August 17, 2022. https://edtrust.org/resource/for-student-parents-the-biggest-hurdles-to-a-higher-education-are-costs-and-finding-child-care/ 

Winslow, Barbara. 2016. “The Impact of Title IX.” The Gilder-Lehrman Institute, September 24, 2016. https://faculty.uml.edu/sgallagher/The_Impact_of_Title_IX-_GilderLehrman.pdf

Wladis, Claire, Alyse C. Hachey, and Katherine Conway. “No Time for College? An Investigation of Time Poverty and Parenthood.” The Journal of Higher Education 89, no. 6 (2 November 2018): 807–31. https://doi.org/10.1080/00221546.2018.1442983

WSF. 2022. “50 years of Title IX we’re not done yet”. Women’s Sports Foundation. https://www.womenssportsfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/13_Low-Res_Title-IX-50-Report.pdf