Coalition for Pregnant and Parenting Students Advocacy

The Coalition for Pregnant and Parenting Students Advocacy was formed in February 2022 by the National Women’s Law Center, National Crittenton, and Healthy Teen Network. Together, these co-chairs regularly convene advocates to promote educational equity and success for pregnant and parenting students in K12 and Higher Education. Members include former and current pregnant and parenting students, community organizers, federal and state policy advocates, researchers, college administrators and service providers, and attorneys from across the country.

Coalition Values 

• Collaboration and Respect: Each coalition member recognizes that we all bring different strengths, capacities, and expertise to the table, and that all contributions are valuable. We all commit to making decisions together and maintaining a culture of transparency. While we see each other as experts and will seek feedback from one another when appropriate, the coalition will avoid duplicating the work of our respective organizations. Rather, we will focus on work we can best achieve collectively.
• Population Informed Advocacy: The coalition is committed to creating and maintaining meaningful opportunities for current and former pregnant and parenting students at the K12 and Higher Ed level to meaningfully engage with us and inform our advocacy.
• Inclusive Advocacy: We are committed to supporting all pregnant and parenting students in the pursuit of their education. This includes LGBTQI+ pregnant and parenting students, and pregnant students who terminate their pregnancies. The coalition views education access for pregnant and parenting students as a reproductive justice issue.
• Equity and Civil Rights Framing: Pregnant and parenting students’ lower graduation rates compared to the general student population are not the result of personal failing. Rather, education resource inequities and civil rights violations push pregnant and parenting students out of school. The coalition views our advocacy as necessary for education equity and commits to centering the most marginalized pregnant and parenting students in our work. This includes young, racialized, system-involved, and mixed-immigration status pregnant and parenting students.

Coalition Goals

• Policy Change: Advance policy changes at the federal, state, and local levels, including for public education institutions and school districts, that broaden civil rights protections and school resources for pregnant and parenting students.
• Training and Information Dissemination: Educate relevant populations (students, educators, advocates, administrators, etc.) on pregnant and parenting students’ legal rights and available resources and disseminate this information in an accessible manner.
• Narrative Change: Inform the general public about the challenges and successes of pregnant and parenting students in K12 and Higher Education with a primary goal of destigmatizing youth pregnancy and parenthood.
• Leadership Opportunities: Develop leadership opportunities for pregnant and parenting students, including system-impacted students, by creating opportunities for them to shape policy goals and actions.

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