The locked bathrooms affect students the most, since they rely on these restrooms during the school day. Teachers and staff are also involved, as they must enforce the rules or redirect students when bathrooms are unavailable. School administrators make the decisions about locking restrooms.

Several bathrooms in the school have been locked during certain hours of the day. Students often have fewer options and have to walk across the entire school to find an open bathroom.

“Should there be more monitoring instead of being locked up? Should there be more people to be monitored instead of teachers from teaching classrooms,” Alivea Phillips said.

The issue occurs throughout the school day, but it is especially noticeable during busy times like lunch, transitions between classes, or right before dismissal. This situation is happening inside the school building, with specific hallways and sections having their bathrooms shut down.

Administrators explain that bathrooms are locked to prevent vandalism, skipping, and vaping. Bathrooms are also locked to cut down on students skipping class or gathering in large groups. However, many students feel this creates more problems than it solves.

“In order to open the bathrooms for students, teachers are having to be present at class change to make sure that vandalism is not taking place,” Amy Davis said.

The bathrooms are locked by school staff and custodians, who keep certain restrooms closed and direct students to the ones that remain open. This is done by physically securing the doors, sometimes for part of the day and sometimes permanently.

“I feel like what they’re trying to stop is vaping and fights and people skipping,” Makinna Crosby said.

The locking of school bathrooms has sparked debate between safety and accessibility. While the administration cites discipline and maintenance as reasons, many students argue that it limits their basic needs and creates unnecessary stress. Finding a balance between security and student access remains the challenge.