Bill Text: NJ A1465 | 2016-2017 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Ensures equal rights and opportunities for pregnant students in institutions of higher education.*
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 7-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2016-09-15 - Substituted by S1489 (1R) [A1465 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2016-A1465-Amended.html
ASSEMBLY, No. 1465
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
217th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2016 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman PAMELA R. LAMPITT
District 6 (Burlington and Camden)
Assemblywoman GABRIELA M. MOSQUERA
District 4 (Camden and Gloucester)
Assemblyman BENJIE E. WIMBERLY
District 35 (Bergen and Passaic)
Assemblywoman JOANN DOWNEY
District 11 (Monmouth)
SYNOPSIS
Ensures equal rights and opportunities for pregnant students in institutions of higher education.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As reported by the Assembly Women and Children Committee on May 19, 2016, with amendments.
An Act concerning pregnancy discrimination in higher education and supplementing chapter 3B of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. An institution of higher education offering 1associate, baccalaureate, or1 graduate degree programs shall be prohibited from requiring a 1[graduate]1 student to take a leave of absence, withdraw from 1[a] an associate, baccalaureate, or1 graduate program, or limit 1[graduate] the student's1 studies solely due to pregnancy or pregnancy-related issues.
b. An institution of higher education offering 1associate, baccalaureate, or1 graduate degree programs shall provide reasonable accommodations to a pregnant 1[graduate]1 student to enable the student to complete coursework and research. Reasonable accommodations to a pregnant 1[graduate]1 student shall include, but need not be limited to, allowances for the student's health and safety, such as allowing the student to maintain a safe distance from hazardous substances, allowing the student to make up tests and assignments that are missed for pregnancy-related reasons, allowing a student to take a leave of absence, and excusing medically-necessary absences.
c. An institution of higher education offering 1associate, baccalaureate, or1 graduate degree programs shall develop and adopt a written policy for 1[graduate]1 students on pregnancy discrimination and procedures for addressing pregnancy discrimination complaints under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, 20 U.S.C. Sec.1681 et seq. or under P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill). A copy of the policy shall annually be made available to all faculty, staff, and employees. The policy shall be distributed to all 1[graduate]1 students attending orientation sessions at the institution.
2. a. A graduate student who chooses to take a leave of absence because she is pregnant or has recently given birth shall be allowed a period consistent with the policies of the institution of higher education in which she is enrolled, or a period of 12 months, whichever period is longer, to prepare for and take preliminary and qualifying examinations. The normative time to degree while in candidacy for a graduate degree for a pregnant graduate student shall be increased in an amount equal to the length of the leave of absence, unless a longer extension is medically necessary.
b. A graduate student who is not the birth parent and who chooses to take a leave of absence because of the birth of the student's child shall be allowed a period consistent with the policies of the institution of higher education at which the student is enrolled, or a period of one month, whichever period is longer, to prepare for and take preliminary and qualifying examinations, and an extension of at least one month toward normative time to degree while in candidacy for a graduate degree, unless a longer period or extension is medically necessary to care for the student's partner or their child.
3. a. An enrolled 1[graduate]1 student in good academic standing who chooses to take a leave of absence because she is pregnant or has recently given birth shall return to the 1associate, baccalaureate, or1 graduate program in good academic standing following a leave period consistent with the policies of the institution of higher education at which the student is enrolled or of up to one academic year, whichever period is longer, subject to the reasonable administrative requirements of the institution, unless there is a medical reason for a longer absence, in which case her standing in the 1associate, baccalaureate, or1 graduate program shall be maintained during that period of absence.
b. An enrolled 1[graduate]1 student in good academic standing who is not the birth parent and who chooses to take a leave of absence because of the birth of the student's child shall return to the 1associate, baccalaureate, or1 graduate program in good academic standing following a leave period consistent with the policies of the institution of higher education at which the student is enrolled, or of up to one month, whichever period is longer, subject to the reasonable administrative requirements of the institution.
4. This act shall take effect immediately and shall first apply to the 2015-2016 academic year.
