Restrooms & Locker Rooms

Restroom and showering procedures are particularly sensitive because of the potential one-on-one exposure of a student to a worker or an abusive peer.

Evaluate your facilities with an eye toward eliminating opportunity for abuse. Remember, predators take advantage of relaxed supervision to gain alone time with a student—and restrooms or locker rooms can create opportunities for abuse.

The following are considered best practices. Your assessment may identify the need for additional steps:

• No worker should be alone with a student inside a restroom, changing area, or shower facility.
• Staff should monitor restrooms periodically.
• Make sure a faculty member can monitor activity in changing areas to minimize opportunity for peer-on-peer abuse.

For rare instances when one-on-one interaction with a student may be necessary, it should be observable and interruptible. Two screened staff members should be present. All one-on-one interactions should be observable and interruptible to promote accountability and transparency. Prior parental consent should be obtained, if possible.