School Policies: Bathrooms
As educators continue to interrogate classroom policies for equity and viability, decisions by administrators and districts to restrict students’ bathroom access are being criticized.
- “I see we have moved from homework to bathrooms. Listen, at this point, I need some of y’all to admit that you went into education to reclaim a sense of power and authority that you don’t/didn’t have in your life because the comments and reasons some give are just asinine.” —ELA Educator in South Carolina
- “My job is to provide an education, to teach. I do that in my classroom, not the bathroom. If students “need” to go (some do and some don’t) they are allowed. However, there is a strong correlation between number of bathroom visits and failing/nearly failing grades.” —Teacher in Missouri
- “So, will restricting bathroom access solve the reason(s) a student is trying to leave the classroom? To me, it seems like yet another bandaid over an educational bullethole. For our students to learn and thrive, they need support, not control.” —Teacher, N/A
- “Do you use bathroom/office/hall passes in your classroom + school? Are you required to? Do you think it provides any benefit, or do you just comply with policy?” —Elementary Teacher, N/A
- “We are using ehallpass which is all electronic so the data is really useful and helps us monitor where students are and when. I especially appreciate it when we have emergency drills because we can be sure no student is accidentally missed.” —Educator in Missouri