Is it legal to kick a pregnant teen out of school?
Nope. Well, at least not in most cases. According to Title IX of the Education Amendment of 1972 no federal funded school can:
"…discriminate against any student, or exclude any student from its education program or activity, including any class or extracurricular activity, on the basis of such student's pregnancy, childbirth, false pregnancy, termination of pregnancy or recovery therefrom, unless the student requests voluntarily to participate in a separate portion of the program or activity of the recipient."
"Federally funded" includes public schools and charter schools that receive grants or loans for any purpose, use federal personnel, or even lease property that is federally owned. If the school receives government money, they cannot legal expel a student from any activity or class, let alone kick them out.
http://voices.yahoo.com/should-pregnant-teens-allowed-school-11647524. html?cat=25
§ 106.40 Marital or parental status.
(a) Status generally. A recipient shall not apply any rule concerning a student's actual or potential parental, family, or marital status which treats students differently on the basis of sex.
(b) Pregnancy and related conditions. (1) A recipient shall not discriminate against any student, or exclude any student from its education program or activity, including any class or extracurricular activity, on the basis of such student's pregnancy, childbirth, false pregnancy, termination of pregnancy or recovery therefrom, unless the student requests voluntarily to participate in a separate portion of the program or activity of the recipient.
(2) A recipient may require such a student to obtain the certification of a physician that the student is physically and emotionally able to continue participation so long as such a certification is required of all students for other physical or emotional conditions requiring the attention of a physician.
(3) A recipient which operates a portion of its education program or activity separately for pregnant students, admittance to which is completely voluntary on the part of the student as provided in paragraph (b)(1) of this section shall ensure that the separate portion is comparable to that offered to non-pregnant students.
(4) A recipient shall treat pregnancy, childbirth, false pregnancy, termination of pregnancy and recovery therefrom in the same manner and under the same policies as any other temporary disability with respect to any medical or hospital benefit, service, plan or policy which such recipient administers, operates, offers, or participates in with respect to students admitted to the recipient's educational program or activity.
(5) In the case of a recipient which does not maintain a leave policy for its students, or in the case of a student who does not otherwise qualify for leave under such a policy, a recipient shall treat pregnancy, childbirth, false pregnancy, termination of pregnancy and recovery therefrom as a justification for a leave of absence for so long a period of time as is deemed medically necessary by the student's physician, at the conclusion of which the student shall be reinstated to the status which she held when the leave began.
http://www2.ed.gov/policy/rights/reg/ocr/edlite-34cfr106.html#S40There was a charter school in Louisiana which had a rule that teen girls had to take pregnancy tests (if they were suspected to be pregnant). If they were pregnant, the student would be required to the school's homestudy program.
Interesting point in the first site I posted ... that LA charter school received $15,000 received federal funds in 2011, so that would make their forced homestudy program for pregnant girls illegal. Glad to report that state officials eventually banned the school from doing this (including forced pregnancy tests).
ETA - This movie was made in Canada so maybe the laws in Canada regarding this issue are different than the laws of the US.
I'm reaching for the life within me. How can one man stop his ending. ~ Blue October
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