Ashley Metzger, Centretown News
Erica Braunovan stands between two gendered washrooms at Centennial Public School.Public schools in Centretown are starting to build gender-neutral bathrooms for their students in accordance with a new policy from the Ottawa school board.
The policy was announced over the summer and states that any school under the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board’s jurisdiction, when doing renovations to washrooms for any reason, must also build a “universal” washroom, says Mike Carson, the board’s chief financial officer.
“One of the things that was obvious when we started to renovate some of our older schools to provide washrooms for the disabled, was that they also become gender neutral,” he says.
Gender neutral washrooms are open to anyone, whether they are male, female or questioning their gender identity. The washrooms are necessary to make all students feel comfortable at school, says Carson.
He said the idea was first brought up by students at the Rainbow Youth Forum in November of 2014.
“(The students) said that one of the things that helped them feel secure at school was a secure washroom so I think the reaction from them has been positive.”
France Thibault, principal of Glebe Collegiate Institute, which is attended by teenagers from Centretown, said her high school built a gender-neutral washroom this year and students have been very pleased with the results.
“If there’s anything we can do to make any of our students feel safe when they come to school we’re happy to do it.”
She says Glebe had washrooms available for students who didn’t feel comfortable using regular ones before but the new gender-neutral washroom is in a more central location off of a main hallway.
“For some people using a general washroom can feel unsafe and insecure,” said Thibault. “There are people who will simply refrain from using the washroom in school or in a public place because they don’t feel safe.”
Glashan Public School, an OCDSB school for Grades 7 and 8, has not built universal washrooms yet, says principal Jim Tayler.
He says the school is in the process of addressing it.
Lisgar could not immediately be reached for comment.
The Ottawa Adult High School, also located in Centretown, has a universal washroom available for students, a spokeswoman from the school said.
The reaction in Centretown to the OCDSB’s new policy has been positive, said Erica Braunovan, school board trustee for Zone 10.
“I haven’t had any calls or emails form any of the community members living in Zone 10 and I think people see it as something positive,” she said.
Carson agreed with her, saying parents and students across the city appreciate the gesture of support for youth going through gender identity issues.
He says that eventually he would like to see the policy implemented across the board but there are many challenges with renovating all of the OCDSB’s 150 schools which cover a wide range of ages and renovation needs.
While the Ottawa Catholic School Board has not adopted its own policy to build universal washrooms, the board remains committed to the safety and well-being of its students, the OCSB’s director of education, Denise Andre, said in an email.
Immaculata High School, an OCSB high school in Ottawa East that serves some Centretown students, did not say whether or not the school had a gender-neutral washroom available for students, but it did say students are accommodated so that they feel safe.
St. Anthony School, an OCSB primary school, does not have gender-neutral washrooms either, says Paul McGuire, the school’s principal.
Carson says the school board will continue to be active with the LGBT community and support students in any way it can.
“We’re committed to making our schools safe and healthy places for all of our students and that’s a commitment we’ve always had and we’ll continue to have as we move forward.”