Restroom access for staff
Memo: Inadequate staff access to restroom facilities at Morse High School
Background: Over the course of the last several years, the number of staff restrooms accessible to all staff has steadily decreased. In the past, a teachers room on the second floor and a teachers room on the first floor included a private staff restroom ; the current staff restroom does not and the restroom contained within the old teacher space on the first floor was removed and the restroom on the second floor is no longer accessible for all staff. One of the two staff restrooms located in the administrative office area has always been accessible to the entire staff but starting with the 2013-14 school year access will be denied. Although there are a handful of additional private bathrooms still in place throughout the building, only one is accessible at all times and that restroom is designated for female staff use only.
With regard to public access restrooms, the first floor public access bathroom for females in the old portion of Morse High was eliminated several years ago in order to accommodate expansion of the health office and was not replaced. Requests at the time to add a public bathroom to the old vocational wing then undergoing renovation was rejected (and a private bathroom in that area was also eliminated).
Compounding the staff restroom access issue, two years ago the long-standing practice of providing a morning break in the daily schedule was ended. The result is that from the start of the student day at 7:40 until the end of the day at 2:05, the only block of time provided to all staff to access bathrooms is during the mid-day lunch block. Although in theory staff can use the passing times to access bathrooms, the reality is that the limited amount of time, the shortage of accessible staff restrooms and the 600 plus population of the school who need access to the public restrooms makes this an inadequate solution. It also needs to be mentioned that over the last few years the administrative directives to staff to not leave students unsupervised in classrooms for even short periods of time complicates the practical option of using passing times to access restrooms.
Applicable legal standards: OSHA regulations (29 CFR 1910 141.c.1 mandates access to restroom facilities and prohibits any "unreasonable restrictions on employees use of the facilities" that would cause "extended delays." In addition, the federal ADA arguably extends its requirements of "reasonable accommodations" to situations involving restroom access. Finally, under article 15(d) of the SEA teachers contract, the Board of Directors is required to maintain "a safe and healthy work environment."
Remedies: Although the physical limitations of the existing Morse facilities as well as budget constraints preclude short-term solutions, there are a number of short term steps that could be taken to eliminate or mitigate this problem:
* re-instate a morning break to he daily schedule
* extend the passing time between class periods
* provide access to all staff to the alredy-existing private bathroom facilities in the building
Background: Over the course of the last several years, the number of staff restrooms accessible to all staff has steadily decreased. In the past, a teachers room on the second floor and a teachers room on the first floor included a private staff restroom ; the current staff restroom does not and the restroom contained within the old teacher space on the first floor was removed and the restroom on the second floor is no longer accessible for all staff. One of the two staff restrooms located in the administrative office area has always been accessible to the entire staff but starting with the 2013-14 school year access will be denied. Although there are a handful of additional private bathrooms still in place throughout the building, only one is accessible at all times and that restroom is designated for female staff use only.
With regard to public access restrooms, the first floor public access bathroom for females in the old portion of Morse High was eliminated several years ago in order to accommodate expansion of the health office and was not replaced. Requests at the time to add a public bathroom to the old vocational wing then undergoing renovation was rejected (and a private bathroom in that area was also eliminated).
Compounding the staff restroom access issue, two years ago the long-standing practice of providing a morning break in the daily schedule was ended. The result is that from the start of the student day at 7:40 until the end of the day at 2:05, the only block of time provided to all staff to access bathrooms is during the mid-day lunch block. Although in theory staff can use the passing times to access bathrooms, the reality is that the limited amount of time, the shortage of accessible staff restrooms and the 600 plus population of the school who need access to the public restrooms makes this an inadequate solution. It also needs to be mentioned that over the last few years the administrative directives to staff to not leave students unsupervised in classrooms for even short periods of time complicates the practical option of using passing times to access restrooms.
Applicable legal standards: OSHA regulations (29 CFR 1910 141.c.1 mandates access to restroom facilities and prohibits any "unreasonable restrictions on employees use of the facilities" that would cause "extended delays." In addition, the federal ADA arguably extends its requirements of "reasonable accommodations" to situations involving restroom access. Finally, under article 15(d) of the SEA teachers contract, the Board of Directors is required to maintain "a safe and healthy work environment."
Remedies: Although the physical limitations of the existing Morse facilities as well as budget constraints preclude short-term solutions, there are a number of short term steps that could be taken to eliminate or mitigate this problem:
* re-instate a morning break to he daily schedule
* extend the passing time between class periods
* provide access to all staff to the alredy-existing private bathroom facilities in the building