Georgetown Finally Allows Accommodation for Pregnant Law Student After Public Outcry
While law school is now generally more able to accommodate students at a variety of stages in life, at least one prestigious academic institution appeared reluctant to make accommodations when it comes to balancing its rigorous academic obligations with students' personal milestones.
Brittany Lovely is a 2L studying at Georgetown University Law Center. She is pregnant with her first child and due in December.
Knowing that her final exams dates coincide with her due date, Lovely asked the administration at Georgetown Law if she could take her exams early due to the unpredictability if childbirth and not knowing exactly when she would go into labor.
University Policy
Her request was met with resistance and denied by the university on several occasions, raising questions about the institution's policies regarding pregnant students and its ability to accommodate unique circumstances, even on a case-by-case basis.
Georgetown Law Center's policies outline deferral options for students who experience significant life events, including pregnancy. However, when Lovely sought to use these options, her request was denied. Trying to find a solution to her problem, Lovely contacted a Title IX official who suggested accommodations like taking exams early or remotely. Georgetown denied these requests, too, allegedly saying it would be inequitable to other, non-birthing students.
The situation escalated after Lovely sought dialogue with university officials, who also failed to provide her with any alternatives or options that would allow her the flexibility she needed to take her exams and have her baby.
Title IX and Americans with Disabilities Act
Not willing — or able — to give up, Lovely drafted a legal memorandum outlining her rights under Title IX and the Americans with Disabilities Act.
However, the appeal was redirected back to the Title IX office, where Lovely had previously tried, unsuccessfully, to resolve the matter. At that point, she found herself without recourse or solutions to her problem — that is, until thousands of friends and supporters stepped up to back her.
Public Outcry
Lovely's friends secured over 7,000 signatures from students, faculty, alumni and community members. The grassroots effort brought significant media attention to her issue and resulted in a public outcry, which prompted the university to reconsider its stance and allow Brittany to take her exams in January instead of December.
While this reflects a positive change for Lovely and other pregnant students who may find themselves in similar situations, the question remains whether the law school is in need of policy reform to create changes that support, rather than punish, students who are pregnant or suffering from disability.
What happens to the student who does not have the luxury of public support, 7,000 signatures and the media spotlight?
Reevaluating University Policies
Georgetown's initial offer of allowing Lovely to bring in a days-old newborn to campus for her end-of-semester exam (allowing for breaks for breastfeeding) is likely not anyone's idea of a perfect solution. Certainly not for new mothers still in recovery.
Will Lovely's experience at Georgetown Law Center lead other law schools to reevaluate their policies and practices? Most importantly, perhaps, did Georgetown Law Center truly change their stance on the issue after realizing they were wrong or simply cave in to public pressure?
Related Reading:
- Yale Tops The List In U.S. Law Schools' Scholarly Impact (FindLaw's Practice of Law)
- Utah Joins List of States Seeking to Offer Alternative Path for Licensing Law School Graduates (FindLaw's Practice of Law)
- How Young Lawyers Feel About Astronomical Student Debt (Spoiler Alert: Not Good) (FindLaw's Practice of Law)
