Pennsbury Students Speak Out Against Bathroom Restrictions

FAIRLESS HILLS, PA - Students at Pennsbury High School are voicing opposition against bathroom restrictions that have resulted in classroom disruptions, long restroom waiting times and wrongful tardiness penalties, students say.

The restrictions were implemented earlier this month following fights and a wave of bathroom vandalism, Patch previously reported. The district has since instituted policies that call for increased visibility among administration around bathrooms, limited restroom access for students and bathroom sign-in procedures.

But students at the high school, which serves Falls, Tullytown, Yardley and Lower Makefield, says the restricted access does more harm than good.

“Teachers have to pause their entire class to send students SmartPasses,” reads an Instagram post from Pennsbury Unified Student Body, an activist group of students formed to address the new policies. “Students have to wait nearly thirty minutes in their classes to use the restroom because only one student may leave at a time. This week, students have waited upwards of 20 minutes outside in bathroom lines, considering that only a few restrooms … are even unlocked for the study body. But, at the end of it all, we students get in trouble for arriving late to class.”

The activist group staged a walkout with a “large group of students” on Thursday afternoon to protest against the new policies, Levittown Now reported.

As of Tuesday morning, a Change.org petition dubbed “Stop Pennsbury High School bathroom restrictions” has received 130 signatures. Its goal is to reach 200.

“I would like to use the bathroom without waiting 15 minutes and peeing my pants and bleeding on myself, and just because a few stupid people fought does not mean to close all of the bathrooms, and it's barley affecting them,” one student wrote on the petition page.

“I feel as though the tightened restrictions will only make the violence and devious acts that our school is facing worse,” another wrote.

Pennsbury Unified Student Body was slated to meet with school officials on Friday, the Instagram account stated.

"We are committed to providing a safe and secure learning environment for our students and staff,” school district officials said in a Monday statement, per 6abc. “This commitment includes our efforts to monitor restroom access and limit students in the hallway during class time."

The sign-in policy has since been rescinded, 6abc reported, but students are still reporting “too many people,” junior Rhyan Haws told the outlet.

"We are also fed up with the violence," senior Chris Birkenstamm told the outlet. "And we want administration to look more into that instead of putting these blanket punishments over the entire student body."