Teen Parents

North Carolina has a few laws that protect the rights of teen parents.

If you are still in school (K–12), your school can’t treat you differently because of your pregnancy or parenting status. They also have to accommodate your pregnancy with things like appropriate medical leave. More specifically, your school:

• Cannot discriminate against you for being a pregnant or parenting student. You also can’t be excluded from school or any program, class or extracurricular activity.
• Cannot force you to enroll in any alternative school or program. If they do offer an alternative program, it must be voluntary and comparable in quality and academic offerings to the regular curriculum.
• Must provide you with assistance and support that encourages pregnant and parenting students to remain enrolled in school and graduate.
• Must give you excused absences for pregnancy and related conditions for as long as your doctor says is necessary.
• Must give you excused absences for illness or the medical care of your child if you are the custodial parent.
• Provide you with homework and make-up work to ensure you can stay current with assignments and avoid losing course credit. If necessary, a homebound teacher should be provided.
• After a medically necessary absence, must restore you to the academic and extracurricular status you held when your leave began.
• Can only require a doctor’s note/permission for a pregnant girl to participate in school or school activities if that certification is required of all students under a doctor’s care.
• Must offer you any health service or insurance offered to other students with temporary disabilities.