Children In Classes

The School recognizes that students with children will occasionally face a choice between attending class and looking after a child, because of problems with child care that could not be anticipated. The following policy is intended to strike an appropriate balance between the needs of parents under those circumstances and the ordinary good order of classes to which all students are entitled. A student who needs to bring her or his child to class must obtain the permission of the instructor prior to the commencement of the class. In the exercise of their discretion whether to grant or deny permission, instructors should consider whether there are available seats in the classroom, and if there has been any previous difficulty in that class with the child or with the parent's exercise of responsibility for the child's behavior. If a student complains of being distracted by a child in class, the instructor may refuse or withdraw permission for the child to be present. Instructors may, in their discretion, ask a parent and child to leave class, whether or not another student has complained about the child. This statement was approved by the Faculty on April 14, 1998.