High school cops backlash after removing toilet doors

A South Australian high school has felt the wrath of parents and caregivers after making a significant change to its bathroom facilities.

A high school in Adelaide has been criticised for deciding to make its toilet blocks gender neutral by removing the doors.

In a letter to parents and caregivers dated 12 May, Golden Grove High School principal Peter Kuss said the school had removed two outer doors leading into its current bathroom facilities so the toilets could be more easily accessible from the foyers.

Golden Grove High School has refurbished its bathrooms and faced backlash from parents, caregivers and the wider community. Picture: Google Maps

According to the letter, the upgraded toilet blocks provided students with “lockable, non-gendered, individual cubicles, with handwashing facilities included inside the cubicle, accessed directly from common spaces or open corridors”.

Mr Kuss said that the changes to the toilets were in line with standards on the provision of student toilets which had “evolved” over time. He said that “privacy is still provided to students” even though the two outer doors to the toilets had been removed and that “this action will provide greater safety for student usage”.

“The health and safety and wellbeing of all young people is important to us. We understand that accessing toilet facilities while at school can cause anxiety for some students,” Mr Kuss wrote.

The new revamped toilet cubicles at Golden Grove High School can be seen from the halls after the removal of external doors. Pictures: Supplied

But according to The Advertiser, parents, caregivers and the general community are divided on the school’s toilet upgrade.

Comments on The Advertiser’s Facebook post about the facilities suggested the changes were “too far”.

“Umm I’m all for gender equality but this is too far,” one person’s comment read.

“When kids already hold off going to the toilet all day. My son goes here and doesn’t use the toilets. I’m guessing this is the school’s way of combating their fight against vaping in the toilets at the health of those who don’t and are two afraid to use the toilets,” a parent wrote.

A parent at the school has said that her son does not use the toilets at school. Picture: Facebook

“Would pull my child out of there… that’s wrong I agree with gender neutral bathrooms however kids also have a right to feel safe in a gendered bathroom,” someone said.

“Build another toilet for the non-gendered simple as that,” another commented.

Someone else responded: “They have non-gender toilets. This is about nosy staff wanting to check that students are using toilets to go to the toilet, rather than to hang out by the sinks, doing make-up.”