Setting Up Pregnant and Parenting Students for Success
The Michelson Pregnant and Parenting Student Initiative is a platform for programmatic and policy efforts designed to increase support for pregnant and parenting students at colleges and universities in California. We aim to address the challenges encountered by this often unseen student population and effect systems change that will help student parents achieve their academic goals.
The Landscape
Undergraduate students in the U.S.—more than one-fifth of undergraduate students—are parents
of California undergraduates are parenting students—486,454 students—and 181,182 students are single mothers
of parenting students report feeling disconnected from their college community, and 20% feel unwelcome on their campuses
of single mothers graduate with a degree or certificate within six years of enrollment
of single mothers leave school before earning a college credential
Students with preschool-aged children have about 50% fewer hours left for things like studying and sleeping than their nonparent classmates
Our Work
We seek to find impactful solutions for educational organizations to promote the well-being and academic success of pregnant and parenting students.
Led by an advisory committee, the CSU Student Parent Network designs and implements programmatic and policy efforts to increase support for pregnant and parenting students across the CSU system.
In 2022, the CSU Student Parent Network co-hosted Michelson 20MM’s virtual learning series “The State of Pregnant and Parenting Students in California,” advised Michelson 20MM and state leaders on the design of AB 2881, and launched The CSU Student Parent Data Collection Landscape Analysis Project in partnership with the Education Trust-West. The goal of the project is to understand, develop and make transparent the data collection taking place at the California State University System on pregnant and parenting students
In 2022 The Michelson Center for Public Policy co-sponsored California AB 2881. Authored by Assemblymember Marc Berman, the bill provides a multifaceted approach to support student parents at the California Community Colleges (CCC), California State University (CSU), and University of California (UC). The bill grants priority registration to student parents, establishes a student parent webpage for every campus highlighting available services and resources, and provides greater awareness to the California Earned Income Tax Credit, the Young Child Tax Credit, and the California Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants, and Children. AB 2881 was signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom in September 2022, and implementation started in July 2023 across all of California’s Higher Education systems.
Housed at the Michelson 20MM Foundation, the California Student Parent Pooled Fund is a collaboration between multiple funders focused on advancing equity and systemic change for student parents. The fund aims to support student-parent advocates and ensure a comprehensive approach to student-parent work in California. The fund’s grantmaking priorities include Research and Practice, Movement Building Education, Awareness, Narrative Change, Policy and Advocacy.
To address the challenges encountered by pregnant and parenting students, the Michelson 20MM Foundation partnered with the Blue Shield of California Foundation, Ascend at the Aspen Institute, the Education Trust—West, California Competes, and Tipping Point Community to support an emerging movement of student parents, educational leaders, and advocates driving systems change for the student parent population.
In partnership, “The State of Pregnant and Parenting Students in California” series was launched. The series brings together advocates, nonprofit leaders, professors, researchers, administrators, policymakers, and students for conversations on ensuring the success of pregnant and parenting students. This series builds on the success of the “Uplifting California’s Student Parents” convening, hosted in November 2021.
Featured Events
Student parents are a vital yet often overlooked population in our higher education systems. Generation Hope found that nationally, 40% of parent...
Higher education is becoming an increasingly precarious economic environment. In light of this, the Michelson 20MM Foundation is committed to supporti...
Presented by Michelson 20MM Foundation + The California Alliance for Student Parent Success Get excited, the 2024 Forging Equitable Futures for Stu...