A parent returned to the Prince William County School Board for the third time on Oct. 21, 2026, to press for a division-wide policy guaranteeing students timely access to toilets, citing Freedom of Information Act records about locked bathrooms at Colgan High School.
Janelle Anderson told the board that Colgan, which has nearly 3,000 students, locks multiple bathrooms during seven-minute passing periods, before and after school, during lunch, and during class. She said students who cannot find an unlocked bathroom must interrupt instruction to ask permission to leave class, even with restrictions already in place for the first and last 10 minutes of class.
Her FOIA records include a Sept. 17, 2026, complaint describing a menstruating student who bled through her clothing after encountering locked bathrooms and a long line at another bathroom. “No child should experience that humiliation at school,” Anderson said.
The same records contain a Sept. 24, 2026, statement from Colgan Principal Jeffrey Litz that bathrooms are locked because the school does not have “the personnel to adequately monitor each bathroom.” Litz also indicated the practice occurs at other Prince William County high schools, according to Anderson.
She argued that inadequate staffing is a resource problem that requires a resource solution, not further restriction of access, and noted that Colgan is already overcrowded. Anderson said she could not find any published School Board policy or regulation that establishes when bathrooms may be locked or sets minimum standards for student toilet access.
“I’m asking this board to establish a division-wide policy guaranteeing students reasonable, timely access to toilets, including during passing periods,” she said. “Students should not need a medical diagnosis, a doctor’s note, or special permission to meet ordinary biological needs. School security matters, but so do children’s health, dignity, and well-being.”
A student also raised related concerns. Saul Guzman, a student at Fred M. Lynn Middle School, criticized the “10-10 rule” that bars bathroom use during the first and last 10 minutes of class. He said he once had to wait two full periods to use the bathroom and that his school allows only three passes a day.
“A human right is to use the restroom,” Guzman said. “If I need to go to the nurse or something like that, I have to use one of our passes. I don’t think it’s fair at all.”
The board took no action on the requests. In later board matters, Coles District member Lisa A. Zargarpur said she was listening to the concerns. She noted the importance of attendance in the first 10 minutes of class and mentioned digital hall-pass systems such as Raptor as a possible tool. She said she prefers to hear from principals before the board writes policy.
