VANCOUVER, WA–Parents of two third graders at Mill Plain Elementary school were irate after discovering the teacher’s bathroom policy.
Children at the school can earn play money for good behavior, and can then use it to buy small toys, pizza, and popcorn. The unnamed third grade teacher was also charging the children $50 to use the bathroom. Two girls, Reem Al-Ayadhi and Lilliana Ortega, wanted to use their play money to buy treats like their friends, and wound up wetting themselves as a result.
The parents weren’t notified, and only found out about the accidents after the children were sent home in different clothes. Ortega’s mother is dumbfounded by the teacher’s tactics. “What kid is going to spend money to go to the bathroom?” Ortega asked KATU.com “No child should have to pay to use the restroom. Are you kidding me? That’s absolutely insane.”
Reem’s mother, Jasmine Al-Ayadhi, is also upset by the incident, saying it’s a health issue. “I’m so angry! When a child has to pay money to use the bathroom…It’s inhumane.”
Al-Ayadi doesn’t mind the use of play money to instill values of fiscal responsibility, but is incensed that a teacher would assign monetary value for a basic human necessity.
“This is a school,” she said. “This isn’t a jail. This isn’t a prison. We send our kids to school to learn and to get a good education.”
The teacher has been suspended pending an investigation, but Evergreen School District spokeswoman Gail Spolar said teachers are allowed to formulate their own bathroom policies.
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