An interesting press release from last Thursday:
The Maryland office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation's largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today called on Maryland's Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) system to amend its new school bathroom guidelines in response to privacy complaints reported to the organization in recent weeks.
Earlier this month, CAIR's Maryland office sent a letter with a list of recommended changes to MCPS Superintendent Monifa McKnight and the Board of Education.
Among other recommendations, the civil rights and advocacy group is calling for the following changes to be implemented to protect student privacy:
- Privacy doors for each individual stall in multi-occupancy public school bathrooms.
- Closing off of urinals in each multi-occupancy bathroom in public schools from use unless and until privacy curtains or doors are installed around each individual unit.
- Mirrors installed on the inside of at least one stall door of each multi-occupancy bathroom so students who wear hijab (Islamic head scarf) and others can adjust their clothing in private.
- Signage on multi-occupancy bathroom doors reflecting the school system's guidelines on unisex and gender-neutral[ ]bathrooms so students are informed, prepared and aware of the changes before entering bathrooms, and have a reasonable opportunity (and additional accommodations/time if necessary) to seek out single occupancy bathrooms in school if they choose to do so.
- New construction of public schools featuring plans exclusively for single occupancy bathrooms versus multi-occupancy bathrooms.
