Pregnancy
Employees:
- Employees seeking pregnancy-related leave, or parental leave should contact Human Resource Services Family & Medical Leave at 575-646-8000. If you believe that you are being discriminated against on the basis of pregnancy or require an accommodation for a pregnancy medical condition, please contact OIE at 575-646-3635 or fill out Report an Incident and/or Employee Petition for Accommodation
Breastfeeding/ Nursing Parent Rooms:
- NM Stat. Ann. Section 28-20-1 . A mother may breastfeed her child in any location, public or private, where the mother is otherwise authorized to be present.
- Nursing Parent Rooms are located throughout campus and are made available for students, faculty, staff and campus visitors.
- A Mamava suite is located in Alex Sanchez Hall in the South Great Hall and is available by downloading the Mamava app from the Apple and/or Android App Stores and using it to unlock and access the suite. The suite will be available during regular hours at the Espina Campus.
Pregnant and Parenting Students:
Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 , prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex, which includes discrimination on the basis of pregnancy, childbirth, false pregnancy, termination of pregnancy (miscarriage/abortion), or related conditions including recovery.
Under Title IX:
- Pregnant students should not be excluded from participating in any part of an educational program.
- A student’s absences due to pregnancy or childbirth, as deemed medically necessary, should be excused.
- A student cannot be penalized for taking leave, even if taking medically necessary leave would require an absence longer than the school’s leave policy ordinarily allows.
- When a student returns to school, the student must be allowed to return to the same academic and extracurricular status as before medical leave.
- Any special services provided to students who have temporary medical conditions must also be provided to a pregnant student.
Prohibitions:
Certain programs may determine that pregnant students, at certain stages in their pregnancy, should not participate due to certain prohibitions (jeopardizing health). Any prohibition should be vetted by the Office of Institutional Equity ("OIE"). If deemed appropriate/complaint with law and policy, the course catalog/syllabus must clearly provide notice to students of the prohibition and the reason. If there is a bona fide occupational qualification that prohibits participation by a pregnant student, it cannot be waived; however, all prohibitions need to be carefully considered by OIE for Title IX compliance.
Clinical/Internship Requirements: Must be review on a case-by-case basis to determine if an accommodation can be made such as moving groups around, make-up hours or "Incomplete" with a plan for completion.
Grievance Procedures:
- NMSU provides grievance procedures for students to file complaints of sex discrimination, including discrimination related to pregnancy or parental status. See NMSU Administrative Rules and Procedures ARP 3.25 . Complaints may be filed in person at OIE or online at Report an Incident. All pregnant students should be referred to OIE. Students can request an accommodation/supportive measures by filing a request for a Student Pregnancy Accommodation . While a routine pregnancy is not covered by NMSU policies regarding disability accommodations, impairments arising from pregnancy might be. Such students should be referred to Student Accessibility Services.
References:
- Supporting the Academic Success of Pregnant and Parenting Students Under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, June 2013.
- Know your Rights.
- Pregnancy Fact Resource
If faculty has any questions or concerns regarding NMSU’s commitment to pregnant students, please contact OIE for guidance at 575-646-3635 or at equity@nmsu.edu.