16-05-2025
60 per cent of students at an eastern Ontario school board don't feel comfortable using the washroom
Only four out of 10 students in the Upper Canada District School Board feel comfortable visiting the washroom in schools, with vaping use a reason for some students feeling uncomfortable to use the restroom.
The eastern Ontario school board released the findings of its student survey this week, which is designed to engage students on mental health and wellness and safe schools issues during the school year.
The survey found only 41.3 per cent of students reported feeling comfortable using the washroom at school in March, down six per cent from October.
'Too many students are reporting they don't feel comfortable in our washrooms,' the school board said.
UCDSB Executive Superintendent Eric Hardie told trustees that washrooms are 'very difficult' to police.
'It is one of those private places, of course, it should be a private place in our schools and so how we balance that privacy with also a respectful space where people can obviously go and use the washroom for its intended purpose,' Hardie said.
The school board says schools are 'using strategies' to try and improve comfort for students to use washrooms, including limiting the numbers of students using the washroom at once and 'creating alternative spaces for students to hang out,' according to the presentation.
Staff say a major component of students feeling uncomfortable using the washroom is vaping in secondary schools. The school board is now exploring options to address vaping in washrooms at secondary schools.
'There is a plan to pilot some vape detectors in schools, and so we're hoping that they may help some of the concerns,' Hardie said.
Effective Sept. 1, 2024, Ontario banned vaping devices in schools. Last year, the Ontario government announced $30 million in funding over three years to equip schools with security cameras and other security upgrades, including vape detectors.
The Upper Canada District School Board has recently conducted an awareness and knowledge-building campaign in association with the health unit for parents and guardians to discuss vaping and technology use.
The board notes the percentage of students feeling comfortable at Char-Lan Intermediate School in Williamstown increased from 54 per cent in the fall to 70 per cent in March.
The wellbeing survey also found the number of students feeling a sense of belonging in schools dropped from 71.3 per cent in October to 68.8 per cent in March, while students reporting bullying increased six per cent in March.
