Section 071-4-18 - MARITAL OR PARENTAL STATUSAn educational institution shall not establish or implement any policy 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) An educational institution shall not unlawfully discriminate against any student, or exclude any student from any program or course activity on the basis of such student's pregnancy, childbirth, false pregnancy, termination of pregnancy or recovery therefrom.(2) An educational institution may require such a student to obtain the certification of a physician that the student is able to continue participation in the regularly scheduled program, course or activity so long as such a certification is required of all students for other conditions which may require the attention of a physician.(3) An educational institution which operates a portion of its programs or activities separately for pregnant students, admission to which is voluntary on the part of the student as provided in paragraph (b) (1) of this section, shall ensure that the separate instruction is comparable to that offered to other students.(4) An educational institution 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 educational institution administers, operates, offers, or participates in with respect to students admitted to the institution's educational programs.(5) In the case of an educational institution 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, an educational institution 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. Public schools, however, shall excuse students who are disabled by pregnancy, as an excusable absence pursuant to Title 20-A, section 5001-A(4).
(6) Nothing in this rule shall prevent a school from providing educational programs/courses and related activities separately to pregnant students, who, with the consent of their parents, request to be excused from regular programs and activities.05- 071 C.M.R. ch. 4, § 18