Pasco County Schools considers requirement that could send unpotty-trained kindergarteners home

LAND O' LAKES, Fla. - A heated debate is growing in Pasco County after the school district discussed a possible policy requiring kindergartners to be potty trained before coming to campus.

The backstory:

This school year, district leaders noticed a troubling trend. Elementary students arriving on campus are unable to independently use the restroom.

Superintendent John Legg addressed this issue during a Pasco County School Board meeting on Tuesday.

"It is not the kindergarten teachers’ responsibility to be changing diapers for kindergartners," Legg said.

Legg said the problem has worsened since the COVID-19 pandemic and is not unique to Pasco County.

"It is an alarming trend not just in Pasco but in the state of Florida, in the United States," he said. "Since COVID, students are not independent when they enter into kindergarten as it relates to going to the restroom."

By the numbers:

According to the district, at least 10 students in each of Pasco County’s 52 elementary schools were not potty trained at the start of the school year.

Pasco County Schools are now considering a policy which would require incoming kindergartners to use the restroom independently. Students who cannot could potentially be sent home for up to a week, while families work on those skills.

What they're saying:

"We need our parents to understand that is not okay, and that we will be taking action," Legg said.

Dr. Jennifer Takagishi is a pediatrician at Muma Children’s Hospital at Tampa General Hospital. She says most children should be potty trained between 18 months and 24 months old.

"We’re seeing a lot of after effects from COVID learning loss, that children were not potty trained," Takagishi said.

What you can do:

Dr. Takagishi encourages parents to focus on positive reinforcement rather than punishment throughout the potty-training process.

"It’s stressful for both the parent and the child," Takagishi said. "They should be praised when they use the restroom appropriately but should not be punished when they don’t."

What's next:

In a statement to FOX 13, Pasco County Schools clarified that no official policy has been approved just yet. A spokesperson issued the following statement:

"This is not a district policy, but rather a conversation regarding kindergarten readiness expectation.

Pasco County Schools remains fully committed to ensuring that students with disabilities and students with documented medical or individualized needs receive the support, accommodations, dignity, and care they deserve in our schools. Our teachers, support staff, nurses, ESE teams and administrators work incredibly hard every day to meet those needs with compassion and professionalism.

Schools will always support students with care and respect, but there is also a shared responsibility between schools and families to help children build independence and school readiness skills before entering the classroom. Our goal is not to place blame, but to encourage honest conversations and strong partnerships that help ensure students are successful while also maintaining safe, respectful, and instructionally focused learning environments."

The superintendent also addressed concerns involving students with developmental delays and special needs.

"We want to support students that are developmentally delayed," Legg said. "We put them in the proper setting, so that they can get the support they need."

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