I 
119TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3985 
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to establish notification require-
ments for policies and information concerning expectant and parenting 
students, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 12, 2025 
Mrs. MCBATH (for herself, Mr. BACON, Ms. ROSS, Mrs. BICE, Ms. JOHNSON 
of Texas, Mr. CISCOMANI, Mrs. HAYES, and Mr. NUNN of Iowa) intro-
duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Edu-
cation and Workforce 
A BILL 
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to establish 
notification requirements for policies and information 
concerning expectant and parenting students, and for 
other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Helping Student Par-
ents Succeed Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. EXPECTANT AND PARENTING STUDENTS POLICIES. 
Section 485 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
18 U.S.C. 1092) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(n) EXPECTANT AND PARENTING STUDENTS POLI-
CIES.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each institution of higher 
education participating in any program under this 
title shall develop and make available (including on 
the institution’s website)— 
‘‘(A) a statement of policy concerning ex-
pectant and parenting students, including the 
policy of the institution regarding a leave of ab-
sence related to pregnancy (and related medical 
conditions), and a leave of absence related to 
the birth or adoption of a child, which shall in-
clude any option (including time requirements) 
for making up missed work for taking such a 
leave of absence; and 
‘‘(B) all information relating to available 
resources available at, or provided by, such in-
stitution for expectant and parenting stu-
dents— 
‘‘(i) in manner that does not favor one 
particular such resource over any other 
such resource; and 
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‘‘(ii) that includes the information 
listed in paragraph (2). 
‘‘(2) MINIMUM INFORMATION.—An institution 
of higher education shall, pursuant to paragraph (1), 
make available the following information: 
‘‘(A) Information regarding lactation ac-
commodations available to students. 
‘‘(B) A description of the process for re-
questing accommodations, and the type of ac-
commodations available to expectant and par-
enting students, including— 
‘‘(i) information on accommodations 
for pregnancy-related medical conditions; 
and 
‘‘(ii) information on accommodations 
for students who have parental responsibil-
ities. 
‘‘(C) Information regarding financial aid 
eligibility for expectant and parenting students, 
including— 
‘‘(i) the availability of dependent care 
allowances for a parenting student for the 
purposes of determining the student’s cost 
of attendance; 
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‘‘(ii) the ability to change dependency 
status, including during an award year, 
following the birth of a child; 
‘‘(iii) the availability of and eligibility 
requirements for any emergency financial 
aid programs provided by the institution; 
and 
‘‘(iv) an explanation of the effect that 
a leave of absence may have on a student’s 
demonstration of satisfactory academic 
progress, including for the purposes of eli-
gibility to participate in financial aid pro-
grams under this title. 
‘‘(D) Information on available student sup-
port services, programs, and community re-
sources, such as academic advising, child care 
(including child care subsidy and assistance 
programs), housing (including housing subsidies 
and utility assistance programs), food (includ-
ing food assistance programs), public benefits, 
health care, health insurance, mental health, 
transportation benefits, mentoring, and other 
services available for expectant and parenting 
students, both on-campus and in the commu-
nity, and under local, State, and Federal law. 
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