Potty Training Policy Adopted by School District

WATERBURY, CT - Whether or not their child is potty-trained may no longer be an issue for Waterbury parents sending their children off to school, according to media reports. The Board of Education voted unanimously Wednesday to update its policy on the matter for the district's pre-school programs.

The district's previous policy requiring every child enrolled in the program be toilet trained has been in place since 2012, Eyewitness News 3 reported. District officials said the change would allow them to serve more students, and cited the fact that currently only 32 of nearly 800 students are not already trained.

Officials cited a vital need to get children off to a good start in their education as a major factor in the decision, according to Eyewitness News 3. They also noted that toilet training is a developmental process, akin to learning to read or behave in a classroom.

This new policy would still allow school officials to know if a child is trained before they enroll, Fox 61 reported. Parents of untrained children will be responsible for supplying diapers and wipes.

District officials said they had also been warned by state early childhood education officials the current policy could lead to a loss of the state’s School Readiness grant, the Republican-American reported. The policy does indicate the district still expects children will arrive at the preschool program toilet trained.

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