Parental, Family, or Marital Status; Pregnancy or Related Conditions
Wheaton does not discriminate in its education programs or activities based on a student’s current, potential, or past parental, family, or marital status. Wheaton does not discriminate in its education programs or activities against a student based on current, potential or past pregnancy or related conditions (for example: childbirth, termination of pregnancy, or lactation; medical conditions related to pregnancy, childbirth, termination of pregnancy or lactation; or recovery from pregnancy, childbirth, termination of pregnancy, lactation, or related medical conditions)..
When a student informs any Wheaton employee of their pregnancy or related condition , that employee shouldpromptly provide the student with the Title IX Coordinator’s contact information and inform the student that the Title IX Coordinator can, if the student wants, coordinate specific actions to prevent sex discrimination and ensure the student’s equal access to the College’s education program or activity.
The Title IX Coordinator or designee will inform the student of the College’s obligations under Title IX with regard to the student’s pregnancy or related conditions and will provide the student with the College’s notice of nondiscrimination. If necessary to prevent sex discrimination and ensure equal access to the College’s education program or activity, the Title IX Coordinator or designee will make reasonable modifications to the College’s policies, practices, or procedures. Such reasonable modifications will be based on the student’s individualized needs. The Title IX Coordinator or designee will consult with the student to determine what modifications, if any, are necessary. The College is not required to make a modification that would fundamentally alter the nature of the College’s education program or activity; such modification would not be a reasonable modification. The student has the choice to accept or decline each reasonable modification offered by the College. If the student accepts a reasonable modification, the College must implement it.
Reasonable modifications may include, but are not limited to: breaks during class to express breast milk, breastfeed, or attend to health needs associated with pregnancy or related conditions, including eating, drinking, or using the restroom; intermittent absences to attend medical appointments; access to online or homebound education; changes in schedule or course sequence; extensions of time for coursework and rescheduling of tests and examinations; allowing a student to sit or stand, or carry or keep water nearby; counseling; changes in physical space or supplies (for example, access to a larger desk or a footrest); elevator access; or other changes to policies, practices, or procedures.
The College will allow the student to voluntarily access any separate and comparable portion of the College’s education program or activity and such separate portion will be comparable to that offered to students who are not pregnant and do not have related conditions.
The College will allow the student to voluntarily take a leave of absence from the College’s education program or activity for, at a minimum, the period of time deemed medically necessary by the student’s licensed healthcare provider. To the extent the student qualifies for a leave that allows a greater period of time than the medically necessary period, the College will permit the student to take voluntary leave under that policy instead if the student so chooses. Upon return from leave, the student will be reinstated to the academic status and, as practicable, to the extracurricular status that the student held when the voluntary leave began.
The College will provide the student with access to a lactation space, which is a space other than a bathroom, that is clean, shielded from view, free from intrusion from others, and may be used by a student for expressing breast milk or breastfeeding as needed.
The College will not require supporting documentation unless such documentation is necessary and reasonable for the College to determine the reasonable modifications to make or whether to take additional specific actions to prevent sex discrimination and ensure equal access to the College’s education program or activity.