Summary: This article examines why pregnant and mothering students did or did not stay in high school to see whether schools violated Title IX legislation by not providing equal educational opportunities. Examining life-story interviews conducted in 2002–2004 with 62 black, white, and Latina pregnant and mothering students in Connecticut, the author found that (1) while school policies and faculty were often hostile and unreceptive, mothers who dropped out were usually disengaged from school before pregnancy; (2) the presence or absence of school-based day care was a critical factor in school outcomes; and (3) alternative programs for pregnant and mothering students were experienced differently depending on whether students came from urban or nonurban school districts. In conclusion, the author argues that when our attention shifts from teen mothers to the problems of underfunded and overburdened schools, we are confronted with the larger systemic problems of economic and racial segregation and consequently educational inequality.
