Was the school right to do this?

Question

My son and the rest of his elementary school was not allowed to use the bathroom almost all day due to the water being off in the school. They were told in the morning that the water was out and that no one would be allowed to go until the water well was fix. The pricipal forbid it. There reason was the waste would smell the bathroom up and the toilets would plug from the toilet paper mainly from the girls. They said it would not be fair to let the boys go and not the girls. So the restrooms were locked with out of order signs and no one in the school was allowed to use them. The water was back on around 2 pm and my son had not use the bathroom since he woke up at 7:00 AM. He is in the third grade and said a few children started crying after lunch the had to go so bad. I can not imagin how bad the younger ones had to go. Do you think the school was right to do this and what do you think they should have done? I think making children that age hold it for over 6 hours is wrong regardless

This is a private school and most of the parents work, so I know closing the school would have been hard.

Yes it is hard to beleive, but it did happen just as my son said it did. I'm also not the only parent outraged about it.

Answer 1

They should have brought in outhouses, taken the kids for a field-trip to a restroom somewhere, or let them go in the toilets but throw away the toilet paper in the trash cans. Yes, I think this was wrong. I wouldn't get mad at the school at this point but I would confront them to let them know you are a concerned parent. They also could have canceled school that day. Denying the right to the restroom is a bit rough.

Answer 2

That is the stupidest thing I've every heard of.

Sometimes I can understand why children do not respect adults when they can do something as ridiculous as this. If the restrooms were all out they should have brought in chemical bathrooms. Or made arrangements with a local merchant for bathroom field trips. And if some of the restrooms were working then bathrooms could be monitored and rotated between being a girls room and a boys rooms.

Someone needs to throw a fit, call the investigative news medias. Something. This should never happen again and the person who thought this was a good idea needs to have his bathroom privileges taken away for a full day>

I'd like to know how the teachers handled their bathroom needs. Do some investigating and report back.

This makes me angry. This is child abuse and by someone you are paying to care for your child.

Answer 3

A school is required to care of the students, if there is a reason that proper care cannot be given such as not having heat on a very cold day, no running water, no electricity, etc. the school should have closed the school down for the day or made other arrangements (such as, bus the students to another school until the problem was remedied).

A child that young cannot and should not be expected to hold their waste for those many hours.

The parents should file a complaint against the school, and I would seriously consider finding a different school for my child, if this happened once...how do you know the school won't make another bad judgement call down the road.

Answer 4

I live in PA, and the state law here is that 1 bathroom per gender needs to be open for the school to remain open. I teach in a high school, and last week, some guys messes the bathroom up badly, crapping on the wells, flooding ect.... to punish the student body, the principal had every bathroom in the entire school of 4,000 students locked up for 2 days, except the mens and ladies room closest to the office.

Answer 5

Thats appalling! Ive never heard of such a bad reaction to a simple problem! The principal could have easily have let both the girls AND boys use the girls room, just taking it in turns on the hour! Or he could have let the boys use the staff toilets! That is shocking, i would take it further and see what the other parents have to say. And im pretty sure its illegal to not provide appropriate facilities for the boys.

Answer 6

There are laws about closing schools when the water is off for more than a certain number of hours- the laws vary by state. The right thing to do (and most likely the legal thing to do) would have been to close the school for the day.
That is wrong because no child can hold it for that many hours- I can't even hold it for that many hours!
I would look up your state laws or contact the board of education.

Answer 7

That is horrible. And dangerous. If the school had no water and could not function properly, it should have been closed for the day. I would get together with other parents and write a long letter to the school board regarding the issue. If enough people get involved, maybe it won't happen again.

Answer 8

They should have closed the school for the day. I don't think what he did was legal. Your state should have a department of educational accountability contact them or your state superintendent. Holding urine can cause a bladder infection.

If it is a private school, you will have to contact the school board. I would take my child out of this school. They could have a port a potty delivered. Get the PTA involved. At least make sure a plan is set up if this happens again.

Answer 9

That is wrong. I can understand them not using the bathrooms for fear of clogging the toilets with toilet paper,that is why they rent out port a potties until the water is turned back on or they shut school down that day. It is wrong to expect ANYONE to hold for hours on end, if you need to use the bathroom you need to use it and it should not be refused to you.

Answer 10

This was not right at all. Report this to the school board and/or the superintendent. I went to a private high school and the water was shut off for half the day and they sent us all home.I couldn't imagine not doing the same with with elementary age children.