Can they do this?

[JadenLayne]

I'd be furious! There is no way I would expect my daughter to use a bathroom with no doors. Boys are a bit different as they don't have "that time of the month" problems.

 

[DisneyMommyMichelle]

I would not let DD go back to school at all! this is horrifying.

I went to a private school for HS and there was always an aide in the restroom. It was to prevent anything from happening and to check if you had a pass to be in there while you were there during class periods.

 

[DisneyMommyMichelle]

Our gym teacher made us walk naked into the showers w/o a towel and made sure we showered and issued towels on the way out of the shower.

not to hijack the thread, but DH went to a school like this too!!

 

[kathy387]

My daughter said they took the boys doors off also. As for the faculty, they have their own private bathrooms WITH Doors! Apparently privacy is only a issue if it affects them.

 

[hlbtimes2]

I honestly dont think they've broken any rules. They are not discriminating against anyone and they are providing a toilet. I've used public restrooms with out doors before, it didnt kill me. Actually most of our city parks dont have doors on the stalls.

 

[hlbtimes2]

I went to a private school for HS and there was always an aide in the restroom.

They paid someone to sit in each bathroom all day and watch the students come and go? Our district doesnt have money for that at all! I know that when I was in highschool we had at least 4 sets of bathrooms through out the school. That would require a lot of aids!

 

[LuvN~Travel]

And just what are they going to do when some boy accidentally wanders (or rushes headlong) into the girls bathroom while the girls are using it? I think I would be one irate parent. And, yes it can happen. My son just did it last week. We had some weird sort of stomach virus at our house that was not bad enough to stay home, but bad enough to cause diarhea and stomach cramps. Well he had had the stomach cramps all day, and it had finally hit him hard right at school closing. He rushed into what he thought was a boys bathroom, sat down, took care of business, looked up and noticed those walls were pink! He tried to sneak out without anyone knowing, ran right into the prinicipal and football team, and gave all the boys on the bus something to high five and cheer about, and all of the girls on the bus, something to shriek about!
But, somebody would have been hearing about it if it had been my girl that was in the bathroom when it happened.
Kim

 

[Galahad]

I'd bet it's perfectly legal. DS#1's H.S. in the mid 90's in Maryland had no doors on any stalls in either the boys or girls bathrooms. I think it was a pretty common thing to combat drug use and such in the bathrooms.

 

[I Love Pluto]

Kids are under a tremendous amount of pressure in today's world. Taking the doors off the stalls and having no privacy for feminine hygeine is wrong. It is another stress that kids do not need.

I agree with monitoring the bathrooms. Hire an aide if you have to. I do understand that many school districts are poor, etc., but this is ridiculous. Have the students sign in before and after use. Record times, number the stalls, do whatever else is necessary. The bathroom is a place where the right to privacy should not be an issue.

Please help your daughter and the others at her school. Complain for them. No one will listen to a kid on an issue this large.

 

[Froggyswife]

Soo very stupid taking the doors off. I would be raising cain up in that school tomorrow.

 

[Hannathy]

I remember the 70's to. We did the naked shower bit and shock we had bathrooms without doors at some schools. We lived. I'm sure the girls won't like it but there are worse things. they'll learn not to stand in front of the stalls talking or as we did have a friend stand in front of you when needed.

For the folks who suggest they use the teachers to check bathrooms that's a laugh! if it isn't specifically in their contract and how they will be compensated don't be expecting them to do anything. The Kindergarten teachers at our school can't go get their own kids from the playground in the morning because it isn't in the contract and it would be extra minutes with the students as per the union.

 

[kathy387]

I did send a e-mail to the district administrator. It also made the news tonight, apparently I'm not the only one who thinks that they went too far. According to him, the girls doors will be left on for now. The teachers were telling the kids that the boys were removed today and the girls would be removed tomorrow. I still feel for the boys tho. We are also dealing with a gym teacher/basketball coach who is being brought up on sexual misconduct charges by 2 former students and a current student. This guy was my teacher in high school also. These kids have had alot to deal with without dealing with this nonsense. I told my girls, one's a senior and one's a sophmore to stage a "sit in " in the gym and not move until the doors were put back on and I'd support them 100%. The whole school is upset about it so I doubt they'd have trouble doing it....they're all just afraid that they'd get in major trouble {especially my senior who's getting ready to go to college}. Thanks to all of you for your support and opinions. I usually don't cause "problems" at school but this is a human right issue and don't believe that these kids should be put under any more stress than they already are {re: the bomb threats}

 

[TJ's Mom]

First off, I feel that taking off the bathroom doors is wrong!!! However, I will probably get flamed for this, but I have an issue with some of the suggestions. I am teacher at a public high school. I hate when people go to the media or stage sit-ins without first trying to discuss the problem. Maybe I missed something but it sounded like the doors came off today. This is wrong and the parents need to contact the principal first. If they are not getting anywhere, then a phone call to the superintendent can always help. I am not saying that the media should never be contacted but why not try and work things out with the school first? This is a great teaching moment for your kids. Unfortunately, I have heard so many kids threatening to call their lawyers or the news for very trivial things. I think this is how our society reacts and how we are teaching are kids to deal with problems. The media seldom shares all the facts. They went crazy with a "death threat list" at my school one year. It looked horrible on the news. Of course, they did not mention that Cookie Monster and Barney were on the list too.

Also, there seems to be a lot of anger towards the teachers. Do you really think they had any say in the matter? I would be surprised. Also, do you think they want the doors off and having to deal with the kids complaining? They probably feel awful for the girls. They have enough to deal with and this is just going to make their day harder and take away from the learning that they are being held responsible for.

There was some complaint above (or I read it that way) about teachers not working if their union did not allow it. I do not have a union in my state and I work 9-12 hour days plus Sundays to try and keep up with grading and planning. It would be very difficult for myself and my family that I seldom see to add in bathroom duty on top of everything else. If the bathrooms need to be watched and the money is not there to pay for it, maybe parents can volunteer their time? I am sure the teachers are just as frustrated as the students even though they still have their doors.

All that being said, I think whoever made this decision made a very bad one! I hope it gets fixed soon. I really don't see how doors off the bathrooms can fix anything.

Ok - after I posted this I think maybe I am just having a bad day and something just hit a nerve! Sorry for the rant!

 

[CherCrazy]

There was some complaint above (or I read it that way) about teachers not working if their union did not allow it. I do not have a union in my state and I work 9-12 hour days plus Sundays to try and keep up with grading and planning. It would be very difficult for myself and my family that I seldom see to add in bathroom duty on top of everything else. If the bathrooms need to be watched and the money is not there to pay for it, maybe parents can volunteer their time?

The teacher's union in our area is strong and will not allow parents to volunteer for any activity like that. Heaven forbid a little volunteerism take away from the union jobs. Our school district has union represented, hallway/bathroom monitors who record the names and check the hall passes of all kids entering the bathrooms.

 

[hidmickey:myantidrug]

First off, I feel that taking off the bathroom doors is wrong!!! However, I will probably get flamed for this, but I have an issue with some of the suggestions. I am teacher at a public high school. I hate when people go to the media or stage sit-ins without first trying to discuss the problem. Maybe I missed something but it sounded like the doors came off today. This is wrong and the parents need to contact the principal first. If they are not getting anywhere, then a phone call to the superintendent can always help. I am not saying that the media should never be contacted but why not try and work things out with the school first? This is a great teaching moment for your kids. Unfortunately, I have heard so many kids threatening to call their lawyers or the news for very trivial things. I think this is how our society reacts and how we are teaching are kids to deal with problems. The media seldom shares all the facts. They went crazy with a "death threat list" at my school one year. It looked horrible on the news. Of course, they did not mention that Cookie Monster and Barney were on the list too.

Also, there seems to be a lot of anger towards the teachers. Do you really think they had any say in the matter? I would be surprised. Also, do you think they want the doors off and having to deal with the kids complaining? They probably feel awful for the girls. They have enough to deal with and this is just going to make their day harder and take away from the learning that they are being held responsible for.

There was some complaint above (or I read it that way) about teachers not working if their union did not allow it. I do not have a union in my state and I work 9-12 hour days plus Sundays to try and keep up with grading and planning. It would be very difficult for myself and my family that I seldom see to add in bathroom duty on top of everything else. If the bathrooms need to be watched and the money is not there to pay for it, maybe parents can volunteer their time? I am sure the teachers are just as frustrated as the students even though they still have their doors.

All that being said, I think whoever made this decision made a very bad one! I hope it gets fixed soon. I really don't see how doors off the bathrooms can fix anything.

Ok - after I posted this I think maybe I am just having a bad day and something just hit a nerve! Sorry for the rant!

Bravo!

 

[kathy387]

I don't have a problem with the teachers. It was the superintendent who took it upon himself to make this decision. I have all the respect in the world for teachers, they're overworked, underpaid and under appreciated. Except for the ones that told the kids to quit whining about it and just deal with it. What type of leadership is that? As for trying to work this out first before going to the media...I don't know who called the news stations but it seems like it's been the only way to get through to this guy who seems to be on a power trip and who is also on his way out. There's already bad blood between him and other school officials, not to mention parents, a few teachers, bus drivers, ect. Not once did he get together with the students and take suggestions or ask for opinions that effect them the most. Some of the ideas that I've heard from the kids make alot more sense than some of the ones coming from the so called adults that we're suppose to trust our kids safety to.

 

[Becky2005]

You know, these kids have photo student i.d's. I'd think that they could have the teachers take turns between classes monitoring these bathrooms, have the kids sign in and note the time. They already have aides escorting them during classes. They could check the walls every 1/2 hour or hour and take note to see who was in there. I don't understant why they have to go to such extreme measures. I highly doubt that it's going to stop anyone from writing on the wall or doing it somewhere else for that matter.

Actually something like this happened last year at my DD's middle school. Someone in the boy's bathroom clogged it up big time (and intentionally). The first time nothing was done, they tried to get someone to fess up. No go...it happened a SECOND time.

The washrooms in DD area got locked down & you had to get a key & permission from the teacher to go. I believed they had to sign it out too. Ticked my DD off because the girl's bathroom got locked and the problem was in the BOY'S bathroom. The thought was since no one admitted it and/or snitched, some girls probably knew who did it too...so everyone lost the privelege of free acess to the bathrooms in that area. No doors were taken down.

This year, so far, I haven't heard of any incidents in her center so they don't have the locked bathroom issue again (YET ) . Of course, last year she was in 6th grade and it was their first year of Middle School -- I think some of the boys were pushing to see what they could get away with. Now that they are 7th grade they know clogging the toilets is not one of them.