Secondary school BATHROOMS

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A plea to journalists: please run a story on MCPS bathrooms!

They did this last year: https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2023/02/26/montgomery-county-schools-bathrooms-dangerous/

Nothing changed. MCPS either ignored the issue and just keeps locking bathrooms and asking teachers to add bathroom policing to their already overly long list of duties. It's ridiculous.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:What are the PTSAs for these schools saying/doing about it?

PTAs are ignored. Principals deflect and ignore when this topic is raised.

How about MCCPTA? Or is it same when they bring it up?!

What exactly would PTA bring up? Kids are doing stupid stuff in bathrooms. Ya’ll screamed and hollered about that and overdoses last year. Not some bathrooms are closed and doors are off the bathrooms and security patrols those areas more or stays closer to them. Now you’re complaining that bathrooms are closed. What exactly do you want to happen? There are only so many resources. Kids are dealing.

Between going to the bathroom before school, lunch and essentially have a quater’s worth of passes I feel like most HS kids should be able to manage.

Whoa, someone got off on the wrong side today.
Can the school call caretakers of the students under 18 yrs of age who are repeatedly in the bathrooms for non-bathroom purposes? Have parents come to the bathroom and take a look. Yes, even if that means you leave your work to do so. Drag your kid out of the bathroom! Any other ideas?

This. This is the obvious solution. Make it parents' problem.

You are not familiar with how things work. Lots of parents simply don’t have time to deal with this. They are low-income families with multiple kids, working two jobs. And many who do not speak English. They are not even answering their phones, no way they are coming to school to get their kids.

BS. Have you gone to the bathrooms? Many we hear about are from entitled upper-middle or middle income families.

Depends on the school. This is not true at my kid’s non-W, majority non-White high school.

I think it’s a problem at all high schools, regardless of SES level.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:Sounds silly but can't security guards, or any staff willing to give up their lunch period, stand outside the few bathrooms that are open to manage the number of students who go in? Maybe check student IDs? Jot the name down. Cross it off when they come back out. Those smoking vaping can go outside. Oh wait, MCPS doesn't want students outside smoking because that would look bad on schools? Did I understand this correctly?

There is not enough staff. Too many students, not enough security staff to do this. Not even close.

You need staff to babysit HS students OUTSIDE? Of course they can make students go outside to smoke. There are no smoking zones. Do you see people smoking inside a hospital?

No, I agree. You do not need staff to set up smoking zones OUTSIDE.

But the PP wants staff to stand outside the bathrooms and there is simply not enough staff to do that INSIDE.

I support having a Smoking/Vaping zone outside of the school that does not need to be monitored by adults. Get the smokers out of the bathrooms so that other kids can use them appropriately.

[Anonymous]

Perhaps "Ring" doorbell cameras and buzzer to get in, just like at the front of the schools. Show ID card to camera before getting buzzed or have a scanner like when a parent has to get a visitor pass. Only allow as many kids as toilets. Smoke detectors, and maybe even a ceiling mounted security camera dome inside the bathroom (not over toilets, obv). If staffing allows, random bathroom sweeps to catch malfeasants.

Also, parents can try contacting ACLU, Dept of Ed Office of Civil Rights re a Title IX complaint (disproportionate effect on those who menstruate).

Or find a lawyer for a class action suit. Or every parent whose kid suffered a monetarily quantifiable consequence (ruined clothing, trip to ER) sues in small claims court until policies change.

These are not mutually exclusive possibilities. I'm just spitballing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Posted in the thread Safety in Schools but it could be its own thread.

What is the situation with locked bathrooms at some (all?) mcps high schools? Some of these schools have over 2000 humans who need access to bathrooms. Where do students go when lines to the bathrooms are long to last the entire lunch period? Not all high schools have open lunch for students to go use a bathroom at a nearby establishment. Can you share your kids experiences at their high school?

Blame Jack Smith for stripping discipline and consequences away from MCPS. If students could actually be disciplined, the bathrooms wouldn't be a no mans land of crazy activity. Bring back actual discipline and consequences and the bathrooms could actually be used normally.

This needs to be done for SO many reasons. Not just for the bathrooms. Our kids need to know that they will face actual consequences when they violate a rule. Right now, that is not happening often enough.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sounds silly but can't security guards, or any staff willing to give up their lunch period, stand outside the few bathrooms that are open to manage the number of students who go in? Maybe check student IDs? Jot the name down. Cross it off when they come back out. Those smoking vaping can go outside. Oh wait, MCPS doesn't want students outside smoking because that would look bad on schools? Did I understand this correctly?

Sounds like MCPS needs to hire bouncers like tbose at a bar club!

Or bring back the armed SROs to guard the toilets!

Brilliant!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maybe kids would have fewer issues if they had more ungendered bathrooms.

They have already tried this. We had several bathrooms at our ES converted into non-gendered bathrooms. Still have kids destroying things in bathrooms. Our building services person even went around to classrooms to talk to students. (Yes, i know this thread is about secondary schools, but this behavior starts early in MCPS).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In addition to physical limitations (closing facilities) many schools also limit numbers of passes for students. I counted what my child is "entitled to" based on the policies at his school and he can go 5x/class during a marking period, and has 7 classes, so he can go to the bathroom 35/45 days. I guess the other days he just has to go during lunch or hold it.

I have given him permission to just leave the room if he's denied access to a bathroom and needs it. I'll deal with the discipline. His doctor is willing to write a note because my kid has suffered from health consequences related to holding pee and poop before.

He also can go during the passing. Four min is enough for a quick pee if you can use a urinal.

I have a son and 2 daughters. Sure, four minutes is enough for a quick pee for a boy. But MS and HS girls are dealing with periods, period leaks, etc. Sometimes, it can take a bit longer than 4 minutes. Our MS doesn't allow kids to use the bathroom during the first 10 minutes and last 10 minutes of a class period.

It is definitely a source of stress for some of the girls, mine included. Wish there was a way to make this easier on our girls. Having a period can be stressful enough, why are we making it harder for them?

[Anonymous]

Unbelievable. My mind is completely blown after reading this thread.

All I have to say is that my private school tuition is absolutely worth it even if ‘our kids all end up at the same colleges.’

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Unbelievable. My mind is completely blown after reading this thread.

All I have to say is that my private school tuition is absolutely worth it even if ‘our kids all end up at the same colleges.’

Why don't you stick to the private school forum then? Bye.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Unbelievable. My mind is completely blown after reading this thread.

All I have to say is that my private school tuition is absolutely worth it even if ‘our kids all end up at the same colleges.’

Me too! I guess we're lucky our DCC school doesn't have these issues. My kids claim vaping isn't going on or anything like that. They mostly complain that its dirty or that kids look over the stalls which is creepy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unbelievable. My mind is completely blown after reading this thread.

All I have to say is that my private school tuition is absolutely worth it even if ‘our kids all end up at the same colleges.’

Me too! I guess we're lucky our DCC school doesn't have these issues. My kids claim vaping isn't going on or anything like that. They mostly complain that its dirty or that kids look over the stalls which is creepy.

Right right if course not in the DCC. You need to take a field trip to your taxpayer funded school bathroom.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unbelievable. My mind is completely blown after reading this thread.

All I have to say is that my private school tuition is absolutely worth it even if ‘our kids all end up at the same colleges.’

Me too! I guess we're lucky our DCC school doesn't have these issues. My kids claim vaping isn't going on or anything like that. They mostly complain that its dirty or that kids look over the stalls which is creepy.

There is no way this is not happening in your DCC high school. Kid is at Kennedy, which is part of the DCC, and its rampant there.

And we already have reports of this crap at Wheaton, Northwood and Blair. So what are you talking about?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Perhaps "Ring" doorbell cameras and buzzer to get in, just like at the front of the schools. Show ID card to camera before getting buzzed or have a scanner like when a parent has to get a visitor pass. Only allow as many kids as toilets. Smoke detectors, and maybe even a ceiling mounted security camera dome inside the bathroom (not over toilets, obv). If staffing allows, random bathroom sweeps to catch malfeasants.

Also, parents can try contacting ACLU, Dept of Ed Office of Civil Rights re a Title IX complaint (disproportionate effect on those who menstruate).

Or find a lawyer for a class action suit. Or every parent whose kid suffered a monetarily quantifiable consequence (ruined clothing, trip to ER) sues in small claims court until policies change.

These are not mutually exclusive possibilities. I'm just spitballing.

I like this idea. I bet if the camera were to catch a kid clogging the toilet and then their punishment was having to clean the bathroom, this behavior would stop. I don't understand why kids behave like this. You can't tell me kids behave like this at home and destroy their home bathrooms.

[Anonymous]

nicole.asbury AT washpost.com

Nicole Asbury did a piece on Feb 26, 2023 titled 'Bathrooms are now some of the most dangerous places in Montgomery schools.'

Time for a one-year-later check in on MCPS school bathrooms, Nicole et al.

washingtonpost.com/education/2023/02/26/montgomery-county-schools-bathrooms-dangerous/