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The Daily Cardinal Est. 1892
Thursday, March 28, 2024

After push from LGBTQ community, every Madison public school will add gender inclusive bathrooms

Within the next few months, all 48 regular-district schools in the Madison school district will have at least one accessible, single-stall public bathroom available to students of all genders.

It is an all-gendered bathroom that can be used by all students, visitors and families.

“We’re just trying to normalize it,” Sherie Hohs, the district’s LGBTQ+ social worker, told the Wisconsin State Journal. “It’s like going to a coffee shop, but we’re being very intentional with the language around it, that this is for all genders.”

The push to designate an all-gender bathroom began about a year ago. MMSD policy currently allows all transgender and non-binary students to use the bathroom that aligns with their gender identity.

District officials believe that this will be a welcome opportunity for all individuals that identify as transgender or non-binary.

“Having this district-wide is sending a message that we recognize that we have students of many different identities and we want to provide them with all-inclusive restrooms that are safe and available,” MMSD Chief of School Operations Karen Kepler told the Wisconsin State Journal.

Many schools already offered a single-stall bathroom available to anyone but lacked consistent signage, locks and location. Some students expressed discomfort using the limited gender-neutral bathrooms currently available. Hohs said that providing a more private option will allow for a safer and more focused learning environment.

This policy halted some schools’ requirement that students get a key from the school’s front desk staff in order to use these bathrooms. From now on, all the bathrooms will be unlocked when not in use.

“It’s a large-scale project, but it’s something our superintendent [Jen Cheatham] supports wholeheartedly,” Hohs said. “Despite the federal backlash, we’re still committed to having equitable and inclusive facilities.”

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