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Schools

Evergreen Park Community HS Principal: 'It's Not a New Policy'

After recent news of a policy that limits the number of bathroom breaks students at Evergreen Park Community High School could take per semester, Principal William Sanderson says it's not new and students can go as often as they need.

Bathroom breaks are at the forefront of a discussion concerning  this week.

Sun-Times Media reported Monday that a After that, students must make up any missed class time after school.

Each teacher may choose whether to enforce the rule in their class.

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However, principal William Sanderson said Tuesday this is not an official policy, nor is it new. He reinforced that it was an optional guideline for teachers, who create their own classroom policies, and that students can go as often as they need.

"We want to emphasize that students are permitted to use the restroom whenever necessary," said Sanderson.

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"Evergreen Park Community High School does not have an official school policy regarding student use of the restroom. Individual classroom policies and procedures exist pertaining to leaving the classroom. ...Our goal is to concentrate on academics at all times and we believe that this focus on a non-academic concern detracts from our educational mission," said Sanderson.

According to the Monday report, Sanderson said the policy was to ensure that students won’t miss valuable class time and prevent some from misusing a restroom visit as an excuse to skip class.

Some concerned parents said they worry their kids may "hold it" to avoid the extra class time. 

Sanderson declined to state what caused the uproar on an optional policy that he said has been in place for years.

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