Why is Verrado High School and the Agua Fria District having issues with the restroom policies? When will all restrooms be open to all students? Is it really necessary to close off half of the bathrooms? High schools all over the U.S are having the same issues so what can we do to reduce these problems?

In the school year of 2020-2021, all bathrooms in Verrado were open and there was more room for students to use the bathroom because they weren’t crowded with people.

The issue of vaping and grouping in the bathrooms started to arise so the administration shut down bathrooms one by one. Now there are only two girls bathrooms open and two boys which obviously causes more traffic and more crowded restrooms between periods.

No one is sure what to do about the issue of grouping and vaping because no matter what, it’s not ending. Students keep finding a way and it’s making things hard for people at school.

Just the other day several students were stuck because there were so many people in the restroom. Admin and security guards blocked the exit and everyone in that restroom were late to class. Students have a lot to say on this issue.

A student who attended Westview High School last year had issues with the bathroom policies there because most of the bathrooms would be locked.

During lunch, all bathrooms were closed and locked which leaves students who are innocent with no access to restrooms. Bathrooms are meant to be used for personal hygiene and maintain that hygiene throughout the day.

Many students have been robbed of this basic human right due to students crowding and vaping in school restrooms. According to shscourier.com, an article by Kevin Walters titled Behind Closed Stalls: A Look into School Bathrooms, “Locking bathrooms makes access impossible to the student body, forcing any student that wishes to use the bathroom to ask an authority figure during class time”.

This has become a real issue and not just at Verrado High School. According to the recorded this year for high school students vaping which is more than a quarter of high school students in the U.S and that’s just the students that have come forward about vaping.

Not only does high school students vaping effect other students at school, it effects one’s health and also comes at a great cost. According to singlecare.com on Vaping Statistics 2023, “Vaping can cost $387 to $5,082.50 per year” which is a significant amount of money, especially for people who aren’t even adults yet.

Student’s grouping in the bathrooms also is a big risk nowadays and at Verrado HIgh School, if someone caught in one stall with one person or more, they can and will be searched and questioned by school Admin. Because of the issue of students vaping together, students who could be giving each other hygiene products, exchanging makeup, or even just comforting an upset friend are mistaken for grouping to vape together.

Many students have seen this happen directly in font of them or it happens to them.

Obviously this problem must be solved but the question is how. How can high schools prevent students from vaping in bathrooms without taking other student’s rights to use the restroom whenever it is needed?

When will Verrado be able to allow students to use every single bathroom in the school which were once open? This is definitely a debate for high schools to decide on.

Hopefully Verrado is able to push it’s way through this issue even if it means having a security guard standing in the bathroom between periods or closing all bathrooms down. It seems like no matter what the school does, the vaping never ends in the bathrooms.