Teachers across the country are enforcing a new policy that limits the bathroom passes of students. 

For students, they have to choose carefully when going to the bathroom. Can they hold it until next period? Will they have time to go between class?

Some High School teachers have decided it’s okay to limit students to using the restroom only three times per semester for their class period. Why should a student of the age of 14-18 years old, be able to determine how often they can use the restroom? They can take AP classes, drive, apply for college, pay taxes, and apply for student loans. 

How often they can use the restroom is apparently the limit. 

There is often a misconception of how much time we truly have to use the restroom between classes. For a wide spread campus with thousands of students, such as Oviedo, getting to class in five minutes is a struggle in itself. There’s massive crowds on the sidewalks that students maneuver around on top of the distance they travel to get to class. Finding the time to use the bathroom within this short time is nearly impossible.

Teachers also suggest using the restroom at lunch. For someone who brings their own lunch to school, this may be easy. 

But many students rely on free and reduced lunch. For these students, standing in long lines to get lunch makes 30 minutes barely enough time to eat, much less use the restroom. 

Even if we could use this time to go to the restroom, Medical News Today says that “on average, people will urinate six or seven times a day.”  Students need to use the restroom more than once in seven hours. And for athletes who should drink more than the average amount of water, this isn’t even plausible. 

Teachers also bribe students to use the restroom less by offering extra credit if students don’t use these passes. 

Struggling in a class? Just don’t go to the bathroom. Or need water. In fact, don’t be human. That’s the perfect way to earn extra credit. 

Students should never have to choose between a better grade and performing a human bodily function. And for overachieving students who really care about their grades, this extra credit means a lot to them. They will most likely choose to wait and hold it. Something that is definitely not healthy for them. 

Why should our academics be affected by this need that everyone has? Where is the humanity in it? 

A school year is 180 days and a semester is 90 days, meaning that teachers expect students to only need to use the restroom once every 30 days in their class, which is completely unreasonable. 

Another point that should be brought up is the difference between males and females in this situation. A female on their period shouldn’t be forced to wait until a later time to use the restroom because they are out of passes or hoping for a better grade. Unicef.org states that “Poor menstrual hygiene can pose physical health risks and has been linked to reproductive and urinary tract infections.” Part of this hygiene is using the restroom regularly. 

This policy shouldn’t be allowed. It’s hard to go to the bathroom during lunch or in between class periods. And most people go to the restroom more than once a day. This bodily function should not affect our grade in a class and needing to use the restroom more than once in 30 days should be expected. This policy isn’t fair, it isn’t humane, and it definitely isn’t okay.