Hillsborough High bathroom policy aimed at curbing bad behavior causes concern for students, parents

TAMPA, Fla. - A new bathroom policy at Hillsborough High School in Tampa has sparked a heated debate between parents and school administrators. 

In an effort to curb bad behavior in bathrooms, Hillsborough principal Kevin Gordon announced a new bathroom policy to start the year. Some student restrooms were locked and students were required to request an adult chaperone each time they needed to use the facilities during classroom hours. 

"Students leave class, whether it's to vape, whether it's to fight, whether it's just to talk with friends and we want to minimize that," said Hillsborough School District public relations director Erin Maloney. "So the principal has closed certain bathrooms because there's simply not enough oversight in certain parts of the building to where we're confident that students won't be using the bathrooms for the wrong reason."

Some students and parents said the policy has meant long waits to use the bathroom.

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"Administration had to walk you to the bathroom and a lot of times because they have other jobs to do they didn't end up coming," said Hillsborough student Aanya Patel. 

The school has since loosened their policy. A trip to the bathroom no longer requires an administrative chaperone, and a district spokesperson said chaperones weren't required between class – but half of the bathrooms in Hillsborough's main building on campus remain locked throughout the day. 

"Only the hallway [bathrooms] on one side of the school are open. The other side are locked," said Patel. 

Students have five minutes to navigate between classes. According to some students and parents, fitting a bathroom break in isn't always an option, especially if the closest bathroom is closed off. 

"If you're in one building and you have to get all the way across campus, they were having difficulty doing that, let alone adding going to the bathroom. It's kind of insane," said Hillsborough High parent Carla Gormon. 

The district said there are bathrooms available in every building on campus and that no student is ever denied access to a bathroom.

Maloney said students should be able to reach an unlocked bathroom within two minutes. She also said the new bathroom policies appear to be working to correct behavior. 

"Last year in the month of August, we had 61 students cited for skipping at Hillsborough High School. This year, we had one. Last year, we had five fights in the same amount of time. This year we've had none. So this type of protocol is working and it's giving students what all parents want: a safer place to work," said Maloney. 

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Some, however, question why all students should face restrictions. 

"If the kids are acting like fools, then you tend to that student, not the whole student body," said Gormon. "They need to have better rules for the students and not subjugate them to arcane practices."

Patel said the loosened restrictions make getting to the bathroom a lot easier than it was at the start of the school year, but she doesn't agree with locking bathrooms to try to curb student behavior. 

"We should be able to use the bathroom," said Patel. "It's not something that's a privilege. It's something that's a right."