Philly parents are still fighting for guaranteed bathroom, water, and 20-minute lunch breaks for city students
Without guaranteed access to bathroom and water breaks, some district students wear diapers because they’re afraid of having accidents, a grassroots parents' group says.
The Philadelphia School District’s wellness policy will be up for debate again Thursday, with parents pushing for officials to guarantee students bathroom and water breaks and 20 minutes to eat their lunches.
Without such codified minimums, some district students wear diapers because they are afraid of having accidents, the parents say.
The move comes more than a year into a grassroots group’s “joy campaign” — which includes requests for everything from guaranteed recess and an end to collective punishment to the bathroom breaks.
» READ MORE: Parents say some Philly students wear diapers because they don’t get bathroom breaks. They’re pushing for change.
The school board was poised in June to pass a policy that included most of what Lift Every Voice, a grassroots, parent-led group, wanted — ending the process of penalizing some students for others’ poor behavior, and forbidding silent lunches, where children are not permitted to speak. It also got a recess guarantee for all K-8 students.
But the policy had no provisions for bathroom breaks and water breaks, and no promise that students would get at least 20 minutes to eat their lunch — in some schools, children don’t have time to eat a full meal, parents said — so Lift Every Voice kept pushing.
At the June school board meeting, Superintendent Tony B. Watlington Sr. ultimately said that “bathroom breaks, recess, food, snacks, and water access — consistent across the district — is an absolute right that the superintendent and the board protects.”
» READ MORE: These parents want a ‘chief of joy’ for Philly schools. Here’s why.
School board president Reginald Streater sent the matter back to the board’s policy committee, which is scheduled to meet Thursday at 4 p.m.
LaTi Spence, a Lift Every Voice member and parent of two children at Henry Houston Elementary in West Mount Airy, will be there.
Though some students are able to use bathrooms and drink water whenever they need it, others are restricted in dehumanizing ways, Spence said. Lift Every Voice recently learned of an instance in one city school this year where a child who was denied time to use the bathroom urinated on themselves, suffering great embarrassment and discomfort.
“It’s still happening, unfortunately,” Spence said. “It highlights what we have said to the district countless times around discretion. I appreciate their need to give teachers and staff flexibility, but that comes at a consequence for our children.”
Still, Spence said, given Lift Every Voice’s significant wins in the policy and the board’s strong, public commitment to bathroom and water access in June, she’s hopeful the meeting is less of a fight and more of a sure thing.
“We’re going in hopeful that these things are going to get done,” Spence said. “This feels inevitable — these are really important things for joy.”
Spence and fellow Lift Every Voice members are expected to get a boost from some politicians who have publicly supported the group’s asks.
City Councilmember Isaiah Thomas this week wrote to the board, asking it ensures “every child has at least two guaranteed water and bathroom breaks during the school day and every child has a minimum of 20 minutes of seated lunchtime to eat safely and calmly.”
Bathroom and water access may seem like small issues, Thomas wrote, “but as a father, I understand how much they matter. When children are hungry, thirsty or rushed, it affects their ability to learn, focus and feel cared for. Providing structured time for meals and hydration is not a luxury — it’s an act of respect and basic healthcare.”
City Councilmember Jeffery “Jay” Young also urged the board to formally add protections for students.
“Across our schools, families and teachers tell us that many students are not getting adequate time, access, or care they need to eat, drink water, or take a break when their bodies require it,” Young wrote in a letter to the school board. “These are not minor inconveniences; they are daily barriers to learning, focus, and health. When basic needs go unmet, it undermines every other investment we make in education.”
City Hall sources said Council President Kenyatta Johnson also indicated to the board his support for the policy revisions.