This September Edwardsville High School will begin construction on its building to include multi-stall, unisex bathrooms as part of its commons expansion.

Doing so will force girls to share bathrooms with boys and vice versa –all in an effort to be more “inclusive” to transgender students. The Edwardsville District School Board decided to move forward with a bathroom remodel after HB 1286, the Equitable Restrooms-All-Gender bill, sponsored by Representative Katie Stuart (D-Collinsville). It was signed into law by Governor J.B. Pritzker in August.

The law says that anyone can choose to use the bathroom or locker room of his or her choice.

The Edwardsville school board met on February 12 to discuss details of the bathroom remodel. However, according to district resident Jennifer Korte, prior to the meeting parents had no way of knowing the board would be discussing the bathroom design Monday evening.

Their agenda was vague.

The school district’s architect presented her final plans and renderings at the Monday meeting. The board’s newest member, Scott Ahart, asked her about the safety of the bathrooms. Each stall will have floor-to-ceiling doors that swing inward. If someone were incapacitated, how would they open the door?

The architect never directly answered his question.

Korte says many parents and residents wonder how first responders will get to a student if they are inside an enclosed bathroom stall with the door swinging inward. She asks,

“Was the Edwardsville Police Department asked about the design? What happens if a sexual assault or bullying incidence happens behind that strong door?”

Board member Teri Dalla Riva declared it is “everyone’s basic right” to use the bathroom. No one claims that students don’t have a basic right to use the bathroom. However, it is also everyone’s basic right to be safe when they use the bathroom.

Every parent that knows what happened to Scott Smith’s daughter in Loudon County, Virginia in 2021 is acutely aware of the danger of allowing transgender boys share a bathroom with girls.

Lincoln Middle School will also soon be undergoing construction to add a multi-stall, unisex bathroom. Korte and many others are asking,

“Will parents be able to weigh in on the Lincoln Middle School bathroom designs?”

Edwardsville School District 7 should be transparent and let the public know when they will be discussing this issue. For the sake of students’ safety, parents and students have the right to say how those bathrooms should be designed.