Parents want answers after a Houston middle school administration removed the bathroom stall doors in the girls’ bathroom.
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Kimberly Hevert explained to Fox 26 Houston how her daughter discovered that the IDEA Spears College Preparatory principal had removed three of the four bathroom stall doors due to graffiti. “She said mom, the principal took down the restroom door because some girls were writing on the doors. There’s so many other things going on with schools, but invading their privacy, it’s horrible,” she exclaimed.
The boys’ bathroom was untouched, but the school’s principal ignored the complaints from students and allegedly told one of them, ‘If you keep complaining, I’m going to remove the one last restroom door that there is.”
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Hevert also confronted the school principal about removing the stall doors via phone call. She said the principal told her that she had the doors removed due to the amount of profanity written on the stalls.
“She said I removed them because they’re writing profanity on the doors. So I told her ok, I’m going to interrupt you now; that’s not a reason to remove the doors and invade these girls’ privacy. You could’ve handled it a different way. Her response to me was, ‘that was my decision and I’m sticking to it.”
Hervert said her daughter is afraid to return to school because of privacy issues about the stalls being removed and possible backlash for speaking out.
“Let’s say one of the kids would’ve been recorded by another kid. I mean that would’ve been a serious issue. I wouldn’t want no one staring at my daughter. I wouldn’t want nobody invading her space. We want actions. We don’t want this principal there. Our kids don’t feel safe..”
The school district released a statement regarding the situation and said the doors were removed due to the graffiti on stalls.
“After discovering an influx of profanities and graffiti in the girl‘s bathroom stalls at IDEA Spears College Preparatory, school staff took the doors off individual stalls to repair the damage. During this process, a single stall for use with a door remained, allowing for privacy while using the facility. All doors have been replaced and a school monitor will be on hand to ensure safety, privacy, and address any concerns. The school is cooperating fully with parents and addressing their concerns to continue practicing safety on campus.