Woman claims Bossier middle school teacher refused to let her daughter go to bathroom, which resulted in a UTI

BOSSIER PARISH, La. (KSLA) - A woman claims her daughter got a UTI because she was not allowed to go to the bathroom at school.

“I understand minimizing the amount of times a child goes to the bathroom during class instructions. Obliviously, we want them in the classroom as much as possible, learning,” the woman said.

She says limiting students access to use the bathroom is the opposite of what most school institutions believe in.

The woman, who wants to remain anonymous, said her daughter attends Elm Grove Middle School. Last school year, her daughter told her that a teacher allegedly refused her the opportunity to use the restroom. The middle school student then developed an infection and had to seek treatment.

“[My daughter] called me, and she was really upset. She was in tears because she was in pain,” the mother explained. “She had asked her teacher if she could use the restroom, and the teacher told her ‘no’. She explained that it was an emergency. She had to go really bad, and the teacher told her ‘I don’t care. Go sit down.”

The woman claimed she reached out to the school and learned that there was, in fact, a restroom policy in place.

“I was informed by a faculty member that my daughter needs to go to the bathroom before coming to school. And she usually gets to school around 7a.m. She can go during lunch time, or if she has time, she can go after school before she gets on the bus.”

She took her daughter to a pediatrician in order to get a doctor’s note which would allow her daughter access to use the restroom.

“The point is [that] we shouldn’t have to get a doctor’s note in order for my child to use the bathroom when she needs to use the bathroom at school.”

KSLA reached out to Bossier Parish Schools to get more information on their bathroom policies, and they released this statement:

The district does not have a restroom policy. Each school has its own procedures according to their break structure and class times. The assertion that students are only allowed to use the restroom before and after school and during lunch is incorrect. No one is denied use of the restroom, especially in cases of a medical condition or an emergency, but schools must always be mindful of student access from a safety and discipline standpoint, as well as the disruption of instructional time.

“Rather than the parish or school board issuing one of their typical statements and moving on like there isn’t an issue, I would challenge the parish school board to take a closer look at individual school policy and individual schools to perhaps revisit their policies like the bathroom policies to make sure they are providing the physically and mentally healthy and safe learning environment for our children,” the mother said in response to the school board’s reply.

Copyright 2023 KSLA. All rights reserved.