Editor’s note: 9 a.m. December 2, 2023: Saturday morning a Sharpstown teacher contacted us with clarification about the bathroom use policy at the school. See that update below.
Update 9:30 a.m. We received a response from the HISD press room just now. See below.
The Houston Federation of Teachers has filed a grievance on behalf of teachers at Sharpstown High School for letting children go to the bathroom without passes.
Under a system implemented this year by Superintendent Mike Miles, students are forbidden to go to the restroom during the first and last 15 minutes of the school day. In addition, students who are granted an okay to go to the bathroom have to carry orange cones with them through the hallways — something that many students have already protested as humiliating.
The HFT dispute statement reads:
“The administration has made it clear to us verbally and in writing that we are to jeopardize our own student’s safety, our livelihoods, and our ethics to bar students from using the restroom if the need for the restroom is during instruction. We refuse to participate in the cruelty of the policy and send students to the restroom without passes, so that we might have plausible deniability when questioned for the allowance. We are forced a directive where we must ignore our ethical obligations and our conscience for the students, we serve to enact cruelty on the students to benefit administration from obligations of campus discipline responsibilities.”
Teachers should not have to worry about “Adverse employment actions” for allowing students to use the restroom. (Protection for reporting child abuse) DG Legal.
In the section entitled Remedy Requested, HFT is asking for removal of the principal, Thomas J. Cotter, and that the principal be reported to Family Protective Services.
Also: Remove all emails, written and verbal directives to all teachers who received a directive for allowing students to use the restroom during instruction if students need to use the restroom.
For principals to handle their own discipline on their own campus and not let district management dictate campus discipline.
We reached out to the HISD press office for response which they say they are working on. We will update this story when we receive that.
Update from HISD:
:
The Houston Independent School District cannot comment on a pending legal or grievance matter from outside organizations.
The Superintendent and the School Board remain focused on the critical work of ensuring HISD prepares all its students for the world and workplace of Destination 2035 and allow the legal process to run its course and we cannot answer any additional questions regarding this matter at this time.
Update from Sharpstown High teacher:
The grievance isn’t about letting students go to the restroom without passes; it’s about kids not being allowed to use the restroom AT ALL, and for teachers getting written up for letting kids go.
Our kids aren’t forbidden to use the restroom during the first/last 15 minutes of school. They’re forbidden to use the restroom during every class period, which is either 55 or 60 minutes depending on the period. They may only go during the 5 minute passing period, which is almost impossible because our school was built for 1400 people and we have a population of 1800+
Also, administration keeps some of the bathrooms locked and kids can’t use them even during passing period.
Some of our students have been prevented from using the restroom and escorted back to class even after telling administrators that they were going to change their pad/tampon.
This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2023.
