Rhiannon Ingle
An American high school has sparked major outrage online after revealing just how many times students are allowed to go to the bathroom per week.
Arrowhead Union High School, located in a suburb of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, has introduced a new ePass system, which serves as an electronic hall pass that students are required to use during school hours to take bathroom breaks.
After finding out just how many times pupils can go to the loo, people have rushed to social media to share their thoughts - and, let's say, they're far from happy.
One Instagram user questioned: "What about girls with heavy periods? I was one of those. I needed to go to the bathroom 2 or 3 times in a day to change pads, etc., throughout those 7 hours I was at school."
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"Even prisoners can use the restroom when needed," hit out a second.
A third chimed in: "School nurse here. Come to the health office and I will give you an unlimited bathroom pass. FYI, NO one, especially a school board, can dictate how many times any student can use the bathroom. Period."
"This shouldn’t even be something on the table. Let those kids go to the bathroom," demanded a fourth while a fifth chirped: "I would p*ss in the hallway just to prove a point if someone said 'No you can't go right now.' Sorry bro, can't hold it."
Another confessed: "I'd be suspended bc this bladder weak af."
And a final Instagram user advised: "Just get up and leave. Deal with the consequences later. Get your mom involved anyway and press the issue. If the school admin team wants to waste time dealing with it, let them."
So, what's the actual number then, which has prompted all this controversy?
Under the new system, students are limited to three bathroom visits per day and a total of seven visits per week.
Additionally, the system also imposes a limit on the number of students who can check out passes simultaneously, creating an additional barrier to bathroom access.
JP Moen, an Arrowhead student who recently addressed the school board about the issue, explained: "I feel like this system should not have been implemented."
The cross-country athlete also added that the system penalises him for staying hydrated for his sport.
"Say I drank a lot of water that day, and I try to go to the bathroom two periods in a row, you can't go. It's messed up," Moen pointed out.
"You only get three a day and seven a week, and if you are having extenuating circumstances, it doesn't matter, you literally can't go to the bathroom," said fellow student, Gabi Eggers.
Despite the backlash, the Arrowhead School's superintendent, Conrad Farner, defended the ePass system in a statement, saying it 'ensures safety, maximises student learning, encourages responsibility and minimises inappropriate behaviour'.
He added that the district provides accommodations to students who need extra passes or additional time.
In a statement to Tyla, Farner said that the school had an issue with students 'wandering' the hallways during class time, which 'were consuming an incredible amount of administrative and SRO time'.
After an advisory team researched solutions that other high schools had 'successfully implemented', a team of teachers and administrators concluded that 'the ePass system would be beneficial for Arrowhead High School'.
"We are trying to prevent unsafe, risky behavior...and it is working." he said, adding that another benefit of the system allows them to determine 'where students are at in the event of an emergency or worst-case situation'.
Farner continued by saying that nothing has changed for 'the vast majority of students who never/rarely ask to leave class to use the facilities', with the only impact being that students who would asked to frequently leave class for reasons, such as 'walk the halls' or 'meet up with friends', are 'no longer going to be able to do so'.
"The fact that it makes everyone safer, results in fewer classroom interruptions and provides useful data with minimal financial investment makes it an even more obvious choice," he added.