All gender bathroom

Amanda Lurey, Graduated Club Director|December 21, 2017

All gender bathroom found in OPHS main office.

An all gender restroom was installed in the main office Sept. 2016 in order to comply with California state mandated laws.

California Assembly bill number 1732 passed Sept. 29, 2016, declaring that if a school has a restroom without stalls and is intended for one person to use it at a time, it must have a placard labeling it as an all gender restroom. Oak Park High School complied by this law and posted the proper placards.

“A law was passed that said if you have a bathroom that is like this bathroom –– when you go in and the door closes behind you and it’s a one person use bathroom –– then it needs to be designated an all gender bathroom,” Principal Kevin Buchanan said.

However, while this restroom has been operating in the office for over a year now, it is not being publicized as an all gender restroom.

“I think it would make a lot of the kids in the community feel a lot safer [to know that this restroom exists because] there are some kids at the school that I know of [that] are not sure of their gender [or] what bathroom they would rather use,” junior and Gay Straight Alliance co-president Katie Costanzo said.

According to Buchanan, the school is acknowledging these needs among transgender students, students who are questioning their gender or students who are not comfortable with any gender in general.

“[Having this bathroom available] definitely helps people feel more comfortable, [because] if you need a place to go and you’re not comfortable using the public restroom, you can go back there and feel comfortable to use the bathroom or do whatever you need to do,” junior and GSA vice president Cipher Vail said.

The bathroom was installed to provide students with the freedom of choosing which restroom fits their needs.

“If a transgender [student] wants to use the girls’ bathroom and somebody else is uncomfortable with it, we don’t make the transgender [student] go to a different bathroom,” Buchanan said. “We make the person that’s uncomfortable go to the other bathroom –– that’s their problem.”

The Oak Park faculty has been educated on how to sensitively assess and help with each students’ individual situation. The school also offers necessary resources for students who are questioning their gender.

“I would love [for students] to come to site council and to share [their concerns] with us,” Buchanan said. “I want our school to be a safe, supportive environment. It doesn’t matter who you are. It’s about respecting each other.”