HAYS COUNTY, Texas — Some students at Lehman High School in Kyle claim there is a lack of access to restrooms throughout the day and it is affecting their education.
Katelyn Shepherd said her daughter is a junior at the school and, since November, instead of focusing on academics, her daughter's top priority has been whether she will be able to use the restroom.
"We're talking four stalls for roughly 2,500 students," Shepherd said. "The kids can't focus on their schoolwork."
A little more than a week ago, a group of 10 students protested on campus with signs that read, "We are not inmates," "We are not animals," "We need to be allowed to pee" and other messages demanding that they get more access to restrooms.
"They're having to think ahead of time and constantly keep extra changes of clothes with them because they can't take care of themselves the way they need to because they have no access," Shepherd said.
Shepherd mentioned she had a meeting with the school's principal to get some clarification about the bathroom system on campus and was "pretty disappointed."
She explained how the bathrooms are locked, and there are different forms of access if a student is part of a club or the athletic department.
"The kids have to go around literally trying doors to see which ones are open, so that takes even more time until they eventually find one that's open. If you're not a band student, you don't have access to the band hall; if you're not an athlete, you don't have access to the locker rooms and those restrooms," Shepherd said.
KVUE reached out to Hays CISD about the alleged lack of access. A spokesperson for the district explained that all restrooms on campus are open except for one, which is reserved for students who have in-school suspension.
There are also two restrooms in remote areas that require a staff escort and, during class periods, the bathrooms are locked the first and last 10 minutes to keep students from skipping class, vaping and vandalizing the restrooms.
However, the district added that it is exploring solutions:
"We are looking at several different solutions to allow us to keep every restroom open for students at all times. One of those might be a pilot program to have ID badge, key card access at restrooms that would allow students to use their badges to open the doors. That's in the early stages of discussion, but would be a perfect fix if we can make that work."
Shepherd said she proposed an idea to the school to have volunteers and allow parents to step in and help. Until a solution is finally met, she hopes other parents speak up.
"There's solutions to these problems that don't involve taking away basic human rights. I mean, the kids need to focus on school and not be focused on, 'Can I go to the bathroom?'" Shepherd said.