FOX 11's coverage may have helped open bathroom access in San Bernardino County schools

School bathroom access concerns

In our story about students in San Bernardino schools being forced to do PE and sit on hot asphalt during this heat wave, we learned that students also had limited bathroom access. FOX 11's Christina Gonzalez has new details.

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. - "Restrooms are not being locked today."

That's what San Bernardino School District Spokesperson Ginger Ontiveros told FOX 11 Thursday afternoon.

This comes a day after our FOX 11 coverage brought to light claims by parents and students that bathroom access was being severely limited, sometimes to once a month.

School district officials insisted that there was no bathroom policy and that teachers, who dictate bathroom passes, have been told that students should have access to restrooms when they need to use it. At the same time, they did admit that bathrooms were locked in "passing times" when students go from one class to another.

The California Education Code indicates that "the school shall keep all restrooms open during school hours when pupils are not in class" making allowances for temporary closures "for pupil safety", which is why administrators say they were locking bathrooms between classes.

But what parents and students told FOX 11, goes against the code and borders on punitive measures by certain teachers who would even give extra credit to students who didn’t use their bathroom passes.

Students say they are forced to sit on hot asphalt

Students at a middle school in San Bernardino say they are being forced to sit on the hot asphalt during PE and can only use the bathroom once a month.

Today, students at some schools began checking in, telling us that bathrooms were not locked. FOX 11 hasn't heard from all the parents that reached out to us yet, but are following up on the situation. Some students say they fear retaliation from their teachers.

Ontiveros does say that aside from opening bathrooms: "All of our schools have drinking fountains and water bottle filling stations for students to access through the campus. Also, today, the principal will be reinforcing the district requirement with teachers and staff that students must be able to use the restroom whenever they need to."