Charter School Pregnancy Policy Sparks Outcry

A Louisiana charter school's policy requiring female students to submit to pregnancy tests and expelling those found to be pregnant has come under fire by everyone from students and parents to the ACLU.
Beyond issues of discrimination and illegality associated with policies such as the Delhi Charter Schools, such policies send clear messages to teen girls that you dont matter, and you dont belong here. This can be a devastating blow for an already-vulnerable young woman.

Given how they are often treated, it is not surprising that about 70% of teen mothers leave school. And once they leave, the odds are not good that they will complete their education. Fewer than four in 10 mothers who give birth before the age of 18 have a diploma. https://powertodecide.org/why-it-matters/pdf/education.pdf

We know that lacking a high school diploma profoundly impacts ones future earning power. So keeping pregnant teens in school is more important than ever. Sadly, girls who leave school due to pregnancy report that they would have stayed in school if they had received more support from the adults at school. https://www.aclu-wa.org/blog/teen-pregnancy-discrimination-and-dropout-rate

And we know that support for teen moms can have a positive impact, especially if the intervention is provided while they are still in school. https://www2.ed.gov/PDFDocs/teenparent.pdf
What do you think of the Delhi Charter School's pregnancy policy, and what do you think its impact would be on female students?

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