By: Bridget Sielicki
The other two laws set to go into effect are designed to support students who may be pregnant or have children.
Senate Bill 412 enshrines federal protections for pregnant and parenting students, while Senate Bill 459 gives parenting college students priority class registration. The bills allow students to take the time off needed for pregnancy or childbirth without discrimination.
“What we like about these bills is that it sets the table for an understanding that students who are parents face different responsibilities,” said Amy O’Donnell of Texas Alliance for Life to the Texas Tribune in May. “They have different weights on them, they have different pressures on them. They have to navigate different things than a student who is not a parent and there needs to be accommodations for them. There needs to be resources.”