Saint Mary’s College of California Pregnancy and Parenting Help

Campus Support & Resources

Health Center: Offers Pregnancy Tests and Referrals

Peer-to-Peer Support: Gaels for Life at Saint Mary’s College of California works to bring awareness to pregnancy resources and provide support to pregnant and parenting students. They coordinate with departments on campus to advocate for resources, rights, and accommodations. Find contact information below.

Essential Needs Program: we share information and resources that address essential needs-related insecurities that students face. We understand essential needs as an ecosystem that includes core needs related to housing, food, financial, and healthcare security and access; while also expanding to include needs related to access to technology, textbooks, transportation, clothing, and more.

Campus Policies & Accommodations

SMC is committed to creating and maintaining a non-discriminatory learning environment for all our community members, including students and employees who are pregnant and/or parenting. This includes pregnancy, childbirth, termination of pregnancy, lactation, related conditions, and recovery.

Reasonable Modifications

Reasonable modifications to an education program or activity may include, but are not limited to:

• Breaks during class to express milk, lactate, or attend to health needs associated with pregnancy or related conditions, including eating, drinking, or using the restroom;
• Intermittent absences to attend medical appointments;
• Access to online or homebound education;
• Changes in schedule or course sequence;
• Extensions of time for coursework and rescheduling of tests and examinations;
• Allowing a student to sit or stand, or carry or keep water nearby;
• Counseling;
• Changes in physical space or supplies (e.g., access to a table or larger desk or a footrest);
• Elevator access;
• Other changes to policies, practices, or procedures;
• Voluntary leaves of absences;
• Voluntary access to separate and comparable portions of a program.

Each reasonable modification will be based on the student’s individualized needs following consultation with the student. Collaboration with academic departments/programs, faculty, student services supports, and other campus entities may be needed to assess availability and reasonableness.

For further information, to consult on needs, and request reasonable modifications, please contact the Title IX Coordinator:
Jess Varga – [email protected] : 925-631-4055 : Dante 112

Pregnancy Accommodations Available

This is not an exhaustive list. If you see a resource missing or any updates needed for this school page, please reach out to [email protected]