There are a number of transgender and gender-non-conforming students at Dracut High School. Many of these students don't feel comfortable using the gendered restrooms that are available to them.

Additionally, some students are uncomfortable using the multi-stall restrooms due to privacy concerns, and the rambunctious ways that some students use them. The school administration has struggled to address these issues, and the rest of us suffer as a result.

Students have been allowed to use the nurse's restroom to remedy these issues, but this is not an acceptable solution because it is highly dependent on the availability of the nurse, the restroom is used by sick individuals on a regular basis, and the demand warrants more than one single-stall restroom for students.

These problems can be solved by converting a portion of the teacher restrooms around the school into gender-neutral restrooms. Each teacher restroom is paired so that there is a male and a female restroom next to each other. Because these are single-stall restrooms, it is not necessary to have one for each gender. Some or all of the teacher restroom pairs can be converted into a neutral teacher restroom paired with a neutral student restroom. The only modification necessary for this would be a change in signage.

Further, the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education states, "The Department strongly recommends that districts include an appropriate number of gender-neutral restrooms commensurate with the size of the school, and at least one gender-neutral changing facility, into the design of new schools and school renovations." This guidance was introduced in 2012, but yet Dracut Public Schools failed to abide by this for the 2014 renovation of Dracut High School.

Please sign this petition to show the administrators at Dracut High School that having single-occupant gender-neutral restrooms is necessary to ensure the social and mental well-being of its students.