New Hampshire school backpedals urinal ban after bathroom access debate

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A New Hampshire school board backpedaled a policy banning middle and high school students from using urinals days after voting on restrictions.

Dozens of students protested the measure, which had been a compromise to a proposal that would have blocked students from using facilities based on their gender identity.

"The board has listened to folks," Christi Michaud, superintendent of Milford School District, told WMUR-TV. "Lots and lots of emails, lots of phone calls that we've received."

Students at Milford Middle School and Milford High School can still access the bathroom that "corresponds to their gender identity consistently asserted at school."

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A New Hampshire school board has reversed a decision banning middle and high school students from using urinals after dozens protested the measure. (iStock)

During the board's Feb. 6 meeting was a debate on a proposal that would require students to use the restroom and locker room of their assigned sex at birth. The proposal upset transgender students, gender-nonconforming students and their supporters.

Nick Romeri, a 16-year-old transgender sophomore, said, "I want my high school experience to be just like everyone else’s, like getting my license, taking biology class, and figuring my life out, not fighting for it."

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A transgender student said, "I want my high school experience to be just like everyone else’s, like getting my license, taking biology class, and figuring my life out, not fighting for it."  (iStock)

The ban on urinals approved by the board was offered as a compromise measure to the proposal. It also capped the maximum occupancy for bathrooms and locker rooms at the number of stalls each contains, and prohibited students from using shared changing areas.

Not only did dozens of students walk out days later, but Michaud said school officials received emails and phone calls opposing the ban, which led to Wednesday night's vote. 

While New Hampshire bans discrimination based on gender identity in housing, employment and public accommodations, state lawmakers are considering legislation that says public entities are capable of "differentiating between the male and female sexes in athletic competitions, criminal incarceration, or places of intimate privacy." (Istock/ AndreyPopov)

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Republicans across the country have been pushing anti-transgender legislation. While New Hampshire bans discrimination based on gender identity in housing, employment and public accommodations, state lawmakers are considering legislation that says public entities are capable of "differentiating between the male and female sexes in athletic competitions, criminal incarceration, or places of intimate privacy."

Fox News' Hannah Grossman and the Associated Press contributed to this report.