Carson City School District: New restroom design safer for students

There have been numerous questions and concerns raised regarding the planned modifications to the restrooms at Carson High.

To help clarify, the last few years, Carson High parents and staff have expressed concerns about student safety in the restrooms. From graffiti, to damaged fixtures, vaping and other inappropriate and unsafe activities — the restroom areas cannot be supervised properly under the current layout to prevent these sorts of things.

Acting on that concern, the district engaged to come up with an alternative layout that would respect the privacy of those using the restrooms, but greatly minimize the opportunities for negative events to occur.

The layout can best be visualized by the analogy of attending an outdoor festival or concert where you see a line of portable toilets as a restroom for those attending — fully enclosed individual stalls. Once one exits the stall, there is a wash station for use before moving back to the event.

Now, imagine a similar set-up indoors; that is the alternative layout. Except there is a wall with individual, floor-to-ceiling doors with fully enclosed individual stalls inside. Similarly, when one exits the stall, there is an open area with a wash station. That open area can be easily supervised by staff from the school hallway to maintain a safe environment, while not intruding on the privacy of those using the stalls.

The district expects this new layout will support a safer environment for students.