What Now for Teen Moms?

by Lara S. Kaufmann, Senior Counsel, 
National Women’s Law Center 

Today’s Washington Post features an article about MEI Futures School, the D.C. Charter School for teen moms that is closing down, and the impact its closure will have on the teen moms who go there.  The school was open for less than two years when its charter was revoked by the D.C. Charter School Board. Now, I do not yet know enough about why the school was closed to speculate about whether the closure is necessary or justified.

If the academic offerings at MEI Futures did not provide its students with educational opportunities equal to those of students in other D.C. public high schools, as article suggested – for example, it said that only two of the students were on track to graduate this year – that might violate Title IX and must be remedied.

But I can’t help but wonder: What now?  Many of these girls live in dorm rooms at the school, with their babies, who they take to the on-site child care center on their way to class. Will they find an affordable and welcoming place to live? Will they get access to affordable child care for their babies?  How will they get to and from school and daycare with their babies each day? Will they stay engaged and finish high school if they do not get the support they were getting from the MEI Futures faculty and fellow students?

In their new school setting, will they be stigmatized and discriminated against in violation of Title IX?   DCPS must find other ways to meet their needs, so the girls do not get discouraged and drop out – which would have terrible consequences for them, their children, and the rest of the community. We hope D.C. will take care of its students and future citizens. We’ll be watching.