Access to Education Act
PREGNANT AND PARENTING STUDENTS ACCESS TO EDUCATION ACT (HR 2617)
Illinois Sponsor
- U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-IL)
Description
The Pregnant and Parenting Students Access to Education Act authorizes the Secretary of Education to make grants to promote the education of pregnant and parenting students. HR 2617 was introduced July 21, 2011 by U.S. representative Jared Polis (D-CO2) and was referred to House subcommittee of Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education September 8, 2011.
Goals and Purposes of HR 2617
- To ensure that each pregnant and parenting student has equal access to the same free, appropriate, high-quality public education that is provided to other students.
- To improve high school graduation rates, career-readiness, access to postsecondary educational opportunities, and outcomes for pregnant and parenting students and their children.
- To assist each State and local educational agency in improving its graduation rates and fulfilling its responsibilities under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.) with respect to pregnant and parenting students.
How HR 2617 Benefits Youth
- Assures that state educational agencies and local educational agencies will not stigmatize, discriminate against, or involuntarily segregate students on the basis of pregnancy or parenting, creating a safer place for students to learn.
- Grants students the right to continue their education in the school in which they were enrolled, or would have been enrolled, prior to the student’s pregnancy, childbirth, false pregnancy, termination of pregnancy, or recovery, thus creating more incentive to continue their education.
June 2012
