You're okay with this? @ABQschools [1] pic.twitter.com/7E8mtxdwL7 [2]
— Colin Barz (@BarzColin) April 20, 2017 [3]
A student took to Twitter [4] with a photo of his class's bathroom [5] passes and a simple question to anyone who came across it, "You're okay with this?" As it turns out, few seem to be in support of Donna Cravey's hall slips as the message that they send is infuriating both students and parents.
The paper, given to students when they have permission to leave class and use the restroom [6], has a male and female bathroom sign printed on it and says "Boys" on one side, "Girls" on the other, and "Don't get confused" in the center. Since the photo went viral, many are speaking out about the New Mexico math teacher's divisive design and some are calling the passes "rude" and "inappropriate."
"High school is a place where you're supposed to find yourself, and what you want to do and where you want to go," George Martinez, an Albuquerque Public Schools student, told KRQE [8]. "It's just not healthy for students to feel like they can't be themselves around school."
The school district changed their policy earlier this year to allow students to use the bathrooms that match their gender identities. According to Monica Armenta, a spokeswoman for APS, the school finds the situation "inappropriate" and has discussed the "unacceptable" passes with the teacher.