Support Plan Due Date: The plan must be created and posted to your institution's website no later than October 1, 2026. Under the Pregnant and Parenting Student Support Act of 2025, the original deadline was August 1, 2026, but it has been extended to October 1, 2026.  

Data Reporting Due Date: The first report of the data collection needs to be submitted by September 1, 2027 and will be required annually thereafter. 

No; institutions are not required to collect pregnancy status.

The law requires institutions to collect parental status information through questions developed by the Maryland Higher Education Commission (MHEC).

Pregnancy status is explicitly excluded from student data reporting requirements. 

No, MHEC will develop the questions, reporting format, and implementation of guidance in consultation with Maryland’s public institutions of higher education and experts across the student parent supportive landscape.

Once created, institutions will then incorporate those questions into one or more existing demographic data collection forms.

All public institutions of higher education in Maryland. To review a full list, check out our Implementation Guide & Sample Plan.

While originally, only 12 four-year institutions were included in the Pregnant & Parenting Student Support Act of 2025. The 2026 amendments expanded the law to include all of Maryland’s public institutions of higher education, including all 14 four-year universities and all 16 community colleges. 

Private institutions are not covered under this law at this time.

As defined by Maryland law, a pregnant and parenting student is a student enrolled at a public institution of higher education who is pregnant, or is exercising care, custody, or control over a child.

For data collection purposes, institutions will also collect information about students who identify as a parent, legal guardian, acting parent, or caregiver responsible for a child of any age — including whether they are a single parent or share parenting responsibilities.

Wishful Doing also recommends adopting the Urban Institute's expanded definition, which includes biological parents, stepparents, adoptive parents, foster parents, guardians, grandparents, extended family members, and sibling caregivers.

That's okay and the right of the student to choose.

That said, institutions must take proactive steps to ensure students can access support without disclosure.

This includes: 

• making the support plan visible in student portals and on campus,
• integrating information into orientation and course materials,
• training advisors and counselors to ask non-invasive questions about parenting needs,
• creating anonymous access pathways (such as an online interest form or confidential contact line), and
• hosting family-friendly events and affinity groups.

Our implementation guide provides a detailed multi-channel outreach and access plan.

Yes; and we encourage it!

As written, the law requires referrals to adoption services. However, in alignment with Maryland's constitutional protections for reproductive freedom, Wishful Doing recommends that institutions also include comprehensive, non-directive information about the full spectrum of reproductive health services available to students.

Our implementation template includes sample language and recommended resources — items that go beyond the minimum legal requirement are clearly marked with an asterisk (*) so institutions can choose whether to adopt them.

Wishful Doing offers customized technical assistance, consulting, and facilitation services. Whether you're developing your support plan from scratch, auditing what you already have, building cross-campus coalitions, or designing data strategies — we can meet you where you are.

Initial technical assistance and access to our Implementation Guidelines are available at no cost, made possible through support from Imaginable Futures. Reach out to us to start the conversation.

Institutions must make their support plan accessible on a public-facing webpage — not just in an internal document or portal.

Best practice is to create a dedicated student parent support page that is easy to find from your main website, student services navigation, and ideally through student portals and learning management systems.

Our implementation guide includes examples of strong student-facing webpages from institutions in Maryland and California.