Watch CBS News

Controversy Swirls At Suburban High School Over Bathroom-Break Rationing

EVERGREEN PARK, Ill. (CBS) -- Welcome to Evergreen Park High School, where Ms. Granata was named a classroom hero by the Chicago Bears and where student David Hector scored a perfect 36 on his ACT.

It's also the same school where new rules about bathroom breaks have parents flush with anger.

The policy, students and parents say, limits a student's bathroom breaks to just three per semester in some classes. After that, students must stay after school to make up lost classroom time.

"Let the principal get diarrhea or whatever, and he's only allowed to go three times a semester, and see how he feels about this policy," mother Beatrice Bailey tells CBS 2's Vince Gerasole. "It's crazy."

Bailey rushed her son home in the middle of the day Monday because he's dealing with digestive issues requiring extra bathroom time. The teen said he didn't want to use up one of his permitted bathroom breaks. 

School administrators were reluctant to speak at first, but students suggested to CBS 2 some of their peers have abused the privilege of bathroom breaks.

"There's too many kids who want to go to the bathroom for no reason," senior Jasmine Nunez says.

Says parent Bailey: "I understand they are trying to cut down on students wandering the hallways, but there's got to be another way."

Evergreen Park High School Superintendent Beth Hart said in a statement that there is no official policy regarding student use of the restroom and students are permitted to use the bathroom whenever necessary.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.