St. Charles Parents Angry over "Bathroom Passports" in Schools

ST. CHARLES, IL – Some parents in the St. Charles school district are very unhappy about the limited bathroom breaks their kids are allowed throughout the school day.

Melissa Omalley Walker told The Daily Herald that her Wredling Middle School student brought home a slip of paper he called a “passport.” This passport restricts him to three bathroom breaks per quarter. A teacher signs their initials to the passport every time the student uses it. If the student loses the passport, they lose all bathroom privileges for that quarter.

"I don't think it is right to not allow children to use the bathroom if needed," Walker said in the article. "What if they are having a bad day, or they drank too much? They should be allowed to use the restroom whenever they need."

District Spokesman Jim Blaney told The Daily Herald there are no districtwide or school wide policy governing bathroom breaks. Some individual teachers use the bathroom passport to teach time management.

"This is a situation that is up to the individual teacher," Blaney said. "What they are trying to do is let the kids know you can't just leave the classroom whenever you want. We're trying to get the students to think about how much they really need to leave class and how to start using their time wisely. If you have to use the restroom, you may have to skip socializing with your friends between classes. Part of the transition to middle school and high school is learning that."

Blaney told The Daily Herald teachers are aware of any medical conditions or situations individual students have that may make them take additional trips to the bathroom.

Walker posted a picture of the passport on her Facebook page and received comments from other parents who’s children also use a passport at Wredling, Haines, and St. Charles East High School.

Students have only four minutes to get switch classes, and with going to their locker, getting their books, and making it across the school, they might not have time to stop in the bathroom. Parents with daughters are especially concerned about the passport because of female hygiene needs.

"When nature calls, it calls," said Samantha Tubekis, mother of a student at Haines Middle School, said in the article. "No air conditioning at Haines, so they want them to drink a lot of water. Well, guess what happens then? I get tired of good kids, who aren't abusing privileges, being penalized because of a few bad kids who take advantage."

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