Polis Highlights Bill Supporting Pregnant, Parenting Students During Visit to Florence Crittenton High School

Press Release

Bringing attention to the need to reduce school dropouts, Congressman Jared Polis (D-CO) today visited with students at Denver's Florence Crittenton High School, which specializes in supporting pregnant and parenting students. Polis is the author of the Pregnant and Parenting Students Access to Education Act, a bill to ensure that these students receive the educational guidance and social services they need to continue in school and get their diploma.

"Florence Crittenton shows us that by helping parenting students receive their diplomas, as my legislation would do, we can strengthen our communities, and our economy, and provide a brighter future for these young parents," said Polis. "Teen pregnancies and parenting are drivers of America's school dropout crisis. In addition to doing what we can do reduce teenage pregnancy rates, this bill is essential to keeping young people like those at Florence Crittenton on track to receive a diploma."

"This bill is a great step in the right direction, of helping our students achieve their academic dreams," said Ricardo LeBlanc-Esparza, principal of Florence Crittenton High School. "The Pregnant and Parenting Students Access to Education Act would also go a long way toward helping Florence Crittenton High School continue to create cycles of success with our pregnant and parenting students."

"It's hard being a parent but even harder being a teen parent, with more help from the school community with a bill like this, it would help make it easier to graduate from high school," added Melissa Valles, a senior at Florence Crittenton. "Teen moms need all the help they can get and this sounds like it would really help."

Every year in America, approximately 400,000 teenage girls give birth. With each pregnancy, the new mother becomes increasingly at risk of dropping out of school--and her child is more likely to become a dropout as well. Only half of teen mothers achieve a high school diploma by age 22, compared to 89 percent of their childless peers.

In a nationwide survey of dropout youth, close to 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. This dropout crisis has severe short- and long-term consequences for the economic success and well-being of their families and communities, as well as our nation.

To address this crisis, the Pregnant and Parenting Students Access to Education Act would:

* Enable states to create a plan for pregnant and parenting students, provide professional development and technical assistance to school districts, coordinate services with other state agencies, and disseminate information, among other activities.
* Establish a state coordinator and school district liaisons for the education of pregnant and parenting students.
* Require school district grantees to provide academic support services for pregnant and parenting students; assist students in gaining access to affordable child care, early childhood education, and transportation services; engage in student outreach, recruitment and retention; provide professional development for school personnel; and revise school policies and practices to remove barriers and encourage pregnant and parenting students to continue their education.
* Allow districts to provide parenting and life skills classes; case management services; pregnancy prevention interventions; referrals to primary health care, family planning, mental health, substance abuse, housing assistance, legal aid, mentoring, or other supportive services needed by students; and to address school climate issues, including illegal discrimination against and stigmatization of pregnant and parenting students.
* Collect and report data on pregnant and parenting students annually, including educational outcomes, and require a rigorous evaluation of the program.

The bill would authorize $100 million in FY 2012 and such sums as necessary for FY 2013-2016.

The bill is endorsed by the National Women's Law Center, the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, the National Council of La Raza, the Healthy Teen Network, Colorado Youth Matter, and the National Network for Youth.

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