Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This was in the news right before Covid hit. MCPS had plans to spend a bunch of money to investigate whether it could implement gender-neutral restrooms. The idea had a ton of support from DCUM.

Now that there were some issues in Loudoun County with restroom usage, I wonder if people might have a change of opinion.

I think it’s a terrible idea. Especially for MS girls and upper ES. But I’m clearly in the minority.

Why do you think it's a terrible idea for MS and upper ES girls? If they aren't comfortable going to a gender neutral bathroom, they could just go to the single sex girls bathroom. Just because it's there doesn't mean you have to use it.

Because they are usually getting rid of one of the bathrooms in order to make it ‘gender-neutral’.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What? They had these last year if not before. You probably just didn’t notice bc Covid.

It’s a single stall.

At all schools? My kid seems to think it’s new. It looked new.

There are so many students at our MS that identify as gender neutral it's good to know they're trying to accommodate them.

OP is taking about an ES.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What? They had these last year if not before. You probably just didn’t notice bc Covid.

It’s a single stall.

At all schools? My kid seems to think it’s new. It looked new.

There are so many students at our MS that identify as gender neutral it's good to know they're trying to accommodate them.

How many? What percentage of kids does this impact?

I was just at our ES Open House today and every class list had a number at the bottom.

Girls
Boys
Non-Binary

Every single list at our ES had Zero non-binary kids. It can’t be more than a handful of kids in ES.

Anonymous wrote:No, but my home does. Everyone uses it. Everyone is happy.

That’s a ridiculous equivalency. Just because you have something in your home, that doesn’t automatically make it appropriate for an elementary school setting.

We have an oven in my home. Everyone uses it. Our school cafeteria used to have an oven available to the aftercare provider, but it had to be removed. Fire department deemed it a hazard. So, not everything you find in a home is appropriate for school.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What? They had these last year if not before. You probably just didn’t notice bc Covid.

It’s a single stall.

At all schools? My kid seems to think it’s new. It looked new.

There are so many students at our MS that identify as gender neutral it's good to know they're trying to accommodate them.

Anonymous wrote:Our school does. It’s new this year apparently. Is this a new thing across mcps?

So thoughtful! I wish we had these at school. We also have a couple at home even!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This was in the news right before Covid hit. MCPS had plans to spend a bunch of money to investigate whether it could implement gender-neutral restrooms. The idea had a ton of support from DCUM.

Now that there were some issues in Loudoun County with restroom usage, I wonder if people might have a change of opinion.

I think it’s a terrible idea. Especially for MS girls and upper ES. But I’m clearly in the minority.

Why do you think it's a terrible idea for MS and upper ES girls? If they aren't comfortable going to a gender neutral bathroom, they could just go to the single sex girls bathroom. Just because it's there doesn't mean you have to use it.

Are those still available? Often times when introducing “gender neutral” bathrooms, the solution chosen is to convert the existing female bathroom. I’d be surprised if the schools actually installed any additional bathrooms - that’s quite expensive.

Anonymous wrote:This was in the news right before Covid hit. MCPS had plans to spend a bunch of money to investigate whether it could implement gender-neutral restrooms. The idea had a ton of support from DCUM.

Now that there were some issues in Loudoun County with restroom usage, I wonder if people might have a change of opinion.

I think it’s a terrible idea. Especially for MS girls and upper ES. But I’m clearly in the minority.

Why do you think it's a terrible idea for MS and upper ES girls? If they aren't comfortable going to a gender neutral bathroom, they could just go to the single sex girls bathroom. Just because it's there doesn't mean you have to use it.

No, but my home does. Everyone uses it. Everyone is happy.

Anonymous wrote:You make it sound like you think it's a bad thing? Being more inclusive is really important for some kids and doesn't hurt anyone, so what's the issue?

Not the OP, but I take issue with it for various reasons. Is it the best use of $10 million? How many students does this benefit? Are these bathrooms absolutely necessary, or can there be another way to address the situation for the small minority of kids that this affects?

You make it sound like you think it's a bad thing? Being more inclusive is really important for some kids and doesn't hurt anyone, so what's the issue?

Here is the thread from 2019.

https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/793134.page

Parents, students and staff in MCPS support gender-neutral bathrooms. Not much you can do about it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My middle schooler says that is where all the sex and vaping happens.

To be fair, kids were having sex in bathrooms way before this.

And the vaping goes on IN the hallways in our MS. The kids vape in front of the teachers as they walk through the halls. Kids know the teachers can’t do much about it, so it’s NBD.

yes

Anonymous wrote:My middle schooler says that is where all the sex and vaping happens.

To be fair, kids were having sex in bathrooms way before this.