Sec. 2. Findings and purposes
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The Congress finds the following: There are approximately 750,000 teen pregnancies and 400,000 teen births annually in the United States. Although teen pregnancy and birth rates in the United States have declined by 42 percent and 49 percent respectively since the early 1990s, it is still the case that nearly 3 in 10 girls in the United States become pregnant at least once by age 20. The teen pregnancy and birth rates in the United States are higher than in any other Western industrialized country.
The figure is even higher among Latinas (44 percent) and African-American girls (48 percent). There are geographic variations in teen childbearing; in 2010, the teen birth rate in rural counties was nearly one-third higher compared to the rest of the country regardless of age, race, or ethnicity. Many pregnant and parenting students face significant barriers in enrolling, attending, and succeeding in school, including— discrimination in violation of title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, including stigmatization at school by administrators, teachers, and peer students; a lack of consistent policies at the State, district, and school levels that allow for excused absences for prenatal and postnatal health care appointments in order for teen parents to successfully complete their education; difficulty maintaining academic progress while out of school leading up to or following the birth of a child; juggling school work with parenting responsibilities; lack of access to affordable quality child care and transportation to and from the child care arrangement and school, which can, as a practical matter, make it virtually impossible for a parenting student to attend school regularly; and stereotypes that future opportunities for postsecondary education or careers are limited for pregnant and parenting students, which can diminish students’ motivation to stay engaged in school.
Fully 30 percent of teen girls who have dropped out of school cite pregnancy or parenthood as a reason. Only about half (51 percent) of teen mothers earned a high school diploma by age 22 compared to 89 percent of women who didn’t have a teen birth. Less than 2 percent of young teen mothers attain a college degree by age 30. Studies of females and males who dropped out of high school indicate that becoming a parent played a role in their discontinuation of school, and in many cases it played a major role.
For example, nearly half of all female dropouts and one-third of male dropouts said that becoming a parent played a role in their decision to leave school. Nearly 1 in 5 births to mothers aged 15 through 19 is a repeat birth, totaling nearly 67,000 repeat births. Because teen pregnancy and parenting are significant risk factors for dropout, teen pregnancy prevention can go a long way toward improving high school graduation rates. Females who do not earn a high school diploma are especially likely to face severe economic consequences—to be unemployed, to earn very low wages, and to have to rely on public support programs—that significantly affect not only individual students and their families, but also our national economy as a whole.
Teen childbearing in the United States cost taxpayers (Federal, State and local) at least $10.9 billion in 2008. Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 ( 20 U.S.C. 1681 et seq. ) prohibits educational institutions that receive Federal funding from discriminating against pregnant and parenting students, and its implementing regulations detail schools’ obligations to ensure that pregnant and parenting students have access to equal educational opportunities. Some States currently collect data about the pregnancy and parenting status of secondary school students, but most do not, and there is no nationwide data collection on this important dimension of the student population.
Some local educational agencies are making active efforts to engage and re-engage pregnant and parenting youth in secondary education by implementing voluntary programs that provide or arrange academic and support services for them, including individualized graduation plans, flexible scheduling, homebound instruction for extended absences, school-based child care, transportation assistance, health and social service referrals, and parent education courses. The responsibilities of pregnancy and parenting can also interfere with the attainment of a college degree. 61 percent of women who have children after enrolling in community college do not graduate.
Women who do not have children after enrollment graduate at a 65 percent higher rate than women who do. Federal financial assistance to local educational agencies to start or expand voluntary student academic and support service programs and initiatives for pregnant and parenting students is imperative to helping these students prepare for careers and post-secondary education opportunities, and care for their children without need for long-term public assistance. The purposes of this Act are— 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; and 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.
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Sec. 2
Findings and purposes
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