New Title IX Regulations Spark Confusion and Concern Across Sarah Lawrence
By Ruby Mesas ‘28
Graphic by Gabrielle Krieger ’25
At the beginning of the whirlwind of days leading up to the 2024-25 school year at Sarah Lawrence College, first-year students crowded into a newly-familiar Barbara Walters Campus Center for their first foray into orientation week: Title IX training. Via a dense Powerpoint presentation given by Kristin Collado, Sarah Lawrence’s Title IX coordinator, freshmen were inundated with everything they need to know about Title IX—including the role of mandated reporters, definitions of sexual harassment, misconduct and discrimination, and student’s rights under Title IX. Similar presentations are administered to mandated reporters—which include faculty and staff, as well as student leaders like Residential Advisors (RAs) and Gryphon Guides.
A senior RA who has received this training for the past three years spoke to The Phoenix under the condition of anonymity. They typically heard the same topics covered each year, until now. This year, a new regulation emerged, raising eyebrows across campus as students learn of Title IX’s renewed involvement in a topic previously on the back burner: Pregnancy.
Starting this year at Sarah Lawrence, all mandated reporters are required to report any disclosures of student pregnancy or “pregnancy-related conditions” to the Title IX office.
“My jaw fell,” the third-year RA said.
The Biden Administration spearheaded a slew of new federal regulations in 2024, including requiring schools that receive federal funding, like Sarah Lawrence, to offer appropriate resources and accommodations to students experiencing pregnancy and “pregnancy-related conditions.” These conditions extend to include breastfeeding, miscarriages, abortion, stillbirth, and recovery from any of these conditions. While pregnant students have technically been protected under Title IX since its original drafting under the Nixon administration, these new regulations additionally detail what is required of schools regarding accommodations and resources.
Federally, schools are only required to ensure that pregnant students are able to access resources they may need. At Sarah Lawrence, mandated reporters are required to file a report with the Title IX office informing the office of a student’s pregnancy or related condition. Collado spoke with The Phoenix about this change. She said that the intention of requiring mandated reporters to file an official report is “to ensure that a student can truly connect with me…so they can truly find me if they want to receive any support or accommodations and I can ensure they aren’t being discriminated against.”
Historically, Title IX has been chiefly concerned with combating sexual harassment and discrimination within educational institutions across the United States. Title IX has become an expansive regulation, covering equality in sports, protection against sexual discrimination and pregnancy. However, Title IX is perpetually subject to change, especially as most of the modifications to Title IX are made when a new president and administration enter office.
Skye David, an attorney with the North Carolina Coalition Against Sexual Assault who commented on the trend of Title IX changing with presidencies, said, “If we have a change in administration from Democratic to Republican this year, you’re probably going to see another regulation change around Title IX.” As Title IX frequently changes, it’s palpable that many students worry about what the future holds in regard to reproductive health, especially regarding pregnancies and abortions.
“It feels very Handmaid’s Tale,” said an apprehensive RA. Students and mandated reporters alike have demonstrated confusion and discontent with this newest addition to Title IX. When asked about their initial reaction to this new requirement for reporting, the RA described being “incredibly uncomfortable.” Resident advisors toe a difficult line, spending much of their time actively involved with students while still maintaining the responsibility of mandated reporting. Another anonymous RA said, “If I was pregnant [sic], I wouldn’t really want the school to know…and I don’t think that a lot of people want that either.”
When speaking to Residential Advisors at Sarah Lawrence regarding these changes, it seemed that the topic of pregnancy hadn’t ever been brought up in previous Title IX training.“I was a little blindsided by this new development,” said one RA.
This RA spoke about the difficult position of their job. She said, “I've been put in very very uncomfortable situations because I am a mandated reporter, and because I’ve had to report things.” She noted that part of the difficulties of the job is the potential for miscommunication and resident unhappiness with the methods the Title IX office deploys to handle cases. The RA explained instances where they had communicated to a resident the expected outcome of the Title IX report, and the student was blindsided by the Title IX office’s actions. She indicated a lack of acknowledgement and appreciation of mandated reporters and the sensitive nature of their positions, saying,“You are the eyes and the ears,” and yet “There’s no thank yous.” Despite the sometimes arduous nature of the job, these RAs still feel they’re providing an important service to the Sarah Lawrence community, which is perhaps why the new circumstances regarding pregnancy have raised some eyebrows. “It’s good to report things,” the RA explained, “I think the way it’s being utilized right now doesn’t feel as useful as it could be.”
“The mandated reporting could potentially out someone as pregnant that may not want that out…I could see there being some potential issues down the line,” David, who has extensive experience regarding Title IX and sexual harassment cases, said. “With most regulations there’s positives and negatives. I think this could be one of those.” David, as an attorney representing survivors of sexual assault and dealing first-hand with Title IX, had her own opinions on the effectiveness of mandated reporting. She said, “mandated reporters take away the autonomy of a survivor of sexual violence to decide when to share their story, who they want to share it with and what they want to do about that.” David did acknowledge that she could see the reasoning behind intertwining mandated reporting and the Title IX pregnancy regulation, explaining that “As far as how they came to that conclusion,…if it's reported to someone, then the school has to make those accommodations.”
This notion has raised confusion among mandated reporters. The reporting of pregnancy, while not objectively ill-intentioned, comes at a time when many young adults and students are concerned with the protection of reproductive rights after the overturning of Roe V. Wade. With the recent reelection of Donald Trump, many women in America tread uncertain roads in regard to their future access to contraceptives and abortion, causing an observable uptick in the purchasing of emergency contraception and morning-after pills. As the issue of contraception is of current relevance among students, The Phoenix asked Collado about where contraception falls in the new regulation. It seems the regulations don’t specify any action regarding contraception.
Once a student has disclosed a pregnancy or related condition, mandated reporters must turn to MySLC, filling out a report titled “Title IX/Student Who Is Pregnant Or Has Related Condition – Notification to the Title IX Office.” The form asks for the reporter’s information, as well as the affected student’s information, including a drop-down menu that asks to clarify if the student is a “pregnant student” or “student with pregnancy-related condition.” It continues to a written question portion, asking the reporter to “Please describe whether the student is pregnant or has a pregnancy-related condition. If the student has a pregnancy-related condition, provide more information below,” and to “describe the student’s request or expression of interest in accommodations or support” if the student had indicated interest in such resources. Students are also able to fill out the form on their own behalf, and would then answer questions like “are you interested in accommodations or support,” and any explanation of resources they’d like to have available. Finally, the report has an optional section where users can upload “supporting documentation” including “photos, videos, emails, and other supporting documents.”
An RA said that they had always felt as though they were doing the right thing as a reporter, until now. “I’ve always felt very comfortable in reporting, and now I feel weird and uncomfortable…it almost feels like we have to report someone for having a uterus.”
The idea of “reporting someone for having a uterus” is a notion not only picked up by residential advisors, as other students have considered this aspect as well. Katharine Eanes ‘28 spoke about the recent changes, saying that “it feels unnecessary to report on pregnancy as a Title IX issue. It just seems like another way for institutions to keep track of students’ bodies and personal information.” To her knowledge, Eanes hadn’t been previously informed about these Title IX changes; and couldn’t remember anything regarding pregnancy mentioned during mandatory Title IX orientation for freshmen.
Perhaps the deluge of orientation information consequently buried the information about pregnancy, or some simply weren’t paying close attention. “I feel like I should’ve known, but I also think there’s so many things that are constantly changing that it's hard to keep up, even for the people whose jobs are to let us know these things,” Eanes said. Freshman students were informed of the changes surrounding pregnancy, but returning students who weren’t mandated reporters or student-athletes were not formally notified by the Title IX office.
As the regulations are still in their infancy, it’s unclear how vast their impacts could be across the United States, college campuses, and at Sarah Lawrence, but an air of concern is certainly making itself known. In light of the recent election, confusion and concern continue to grow about reproductive rights, and the trajectory of this new regulation could hold great importance for students. A senior RA said, “it just feels like a sense of control, this is a way the state and the country can have more control over a person’s body … no doubt in my mind, that was my first thought.”