Colorado school's new rule requires students to present ID to use comfort room during class
A school in Brighton in Colorado has required students in classes to present IDs first before they can use the comfort room, prompting a student to launch a signature campaign to abolish it.
The Colorado Sun reported that in Eagle Ridge Academy, raising one’s hand during class doesn’t work anymore following the new rule.
They may only use the comfort room without IDs during the first few minutes between classes.
Students must also show their ID to get meals at lunch, which lasts half an hour and has cut down on the time it takes to serve lunch.
Those who forget their IDs at home must wait and attend a so-called “Friday school,” in which students stay after the last bell of the week to help clean the school, including picking up trash in classrooms and scraping old gum off the bottom of desks.
Sophomore Ailyn Torres, 15, launched a change.org petition to protest the new policy. It has over 250 signatures to date.
“Girls have a lot of necessities,” she’s quoted as saying. “Sometimes we have emergencies, and we’re supposed to just sit there and wait until the bell rings?”
Principal Scott Richardson told The Colorado Sun the new policy was primarily aimed at keeping students safe and curbing a tendency among some students to dawdle in the restroom and even commit vandalism.
“Going to IDs tremendously reduced the number of students loitering in restrooms, increased responsible and appropriate restroom use, increased the speed of the lunch line, and improved the school’s ability to provide a safe atmosphere for all students,” Richardson is quoted as saying in an email.
He added that there’s “a huge decrease” in acts of vandalism in restrooms amid the new policy.
The school official noted that students and families were notified ahead of the new rule through multiple emails.