Louisiana has the sixth highest rate of teen pregnancy in the country. Increasing educational opportunities is highly correlated with reduction in teen pregnancy rates. Yet, counter intuitively, Delhi Charter School in Delhi, Louisiana had a policy that forced pregnant teenagers out of the classroom. Luckily, the ACLU stepped in and the school removed the policy. This policy made no sense: educational opportunities provide a path to social mobility and financial support necessary for a young woman to take care of her child. Why would you not want young women to get an education vital to her and her child?
While some schools have formal policies that push girls out of schools, many schools have more informal procedures that either encourage them to leave the school or penalize them for missing school. Approximately 70 percent of teenage girls who give birth leave school. And, evidence suggests that illegal discrimination is a major contributing factor to this high dropout rate. You can read more about that here.
Reproductive freedom means not being shamed for any of your reproductive choices. Pushing the girls out of the classroom and into the home feels anachronistic in the year that we celebrate the fortieth anniversary of Title IX. Whether my friends and relatives chose abortion, or to carry the baby to term, women need to be supported in their decisions. Young women need proper medical care and proper education.
The ACLU’s own Louise Melling can be seen here discussing the legality of Delhi Charter School’s policy (no, they’re not exempt because they’re a charter school, and no, kicking out boys too does not balance things out and make it legal). Since the policy was blatantly illegal, the ACLU of Louisiana challenged it and it has since been removed.
