High school removes doors from bathrooms to 'prevent students from having sex in them'

One high school in McKinney, Texas has removed the doors to bathrooms, invoking an outcry from both parents and students.

McKinney North High School says removing the doors to the bathroom entrances are a preventative measure to ‘keep kids safe.’

But rumours have been circulating among students that the doors were removed because of illicit sexual behaviour in the loos.

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Privacy's a privilege: McKinney High School in Texas removed all exterior bathroom doors

One high school student said she’s seen some questionable activities in the women’s restroom. ‘I’ve walked into the bathroom and seen girls in the bathroom with guys,’ Sarah O’Kerke told KDAF-TV.

Another student agreed. ‘I heard the reason they took (the doors) off was because they caught a freshman couple having sex in the bathroom,’ Avniel Guerra said.

But the high school disagrees. McKinney High School spokesperson Cody Cunningham said in this instance, the measure was carried for student’s safety and is because of reports of students fighting.

‘The students felt like the reason we were removing them was because of some inappropriate sexual behaviour in the restrooms, but that couldn’t be further from the truth,’ Mr Cunningham told nbcdfw.com.

Wrong idea: District spokesperson Cody Cunningham said the door removals were only to allow better student safety

Different side of the story: But students say it was because their classmates were having sex in the bathrooms

He told CBS Local in Dallas-Fort Worth that it’s a common practice in newer schools. ‘Often times…they do take off or omit the exterior doors to the restroom and really it’s just a supervision issue.’

Parents are upset that it’s an invasion of their children’s privacy, but Mr Cunningham argues that many changes have been made in the last 50 years to protect their student’s safety.

TEEN PREGNANCIES IN TEXAS ON THE RISE

Teen pregnancy in Texas is regularly one of the highest in the nation, a Guttmacher Institute study shows.

The state ranks fourth in the nation for the number of teen pregnancies - one in 86 in teens aged 15 to 19. Though it has received funding for abstinence-only sex education, the numbers continue to remain alarmingly high.

The restrooms, the schools say, still allow privacy, as there is no line of sight from the hallway into the restrooms, thanks to a half-wall.

However, Texas has consistently been a state with alarmingly high teen pregnancy rates.

According to a report by the Guttmacher Institute, Texas ranks fourth in the nation for the number of teen pregnancies, with 88 pregnancies per 1,000 women, aged 15-19. The report ranked pregnancy trends from 1986 to 2006.

It is first in the country for teen birth rates, according to study. While the state - along with Florida and New York - has received considerable abstinence-education funding in recent years, the numbers are alarming.

This isn’t the first disruption to mar the high school.

View to the loo: Removing the external bathroom door would still allow a small amount of privacy, as there's a turn at the entrance

In 2006, the McKinney high school made national news for a band of cheerleaders, dubbed ‘the Fab Five,’ who acted out by skipping class, terrorising their cheer-leading coach, and posting sexually suggestive pictures of themselves on MySpace.

The then-principal ended up resigning as part of a settlement.

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