Maryland makes toilet training mandatory for teachers as ‘Pre-K for All’ expands
Overview:
Anne Arundel County is becoming the latest of the state’s four largest counties to assign restroom duties to classroom workers, a requirement that education experts say is unique among states.
Maryland’s four largest school systems now require teachers and other staff to assist young children with toileting, a task that coincides with the rapid expansion of the publicly funded preschool district and that, according to education experts, makes Maryland the only state that assigns this task directly to teachers rather than aides or nurses.
The change stems from Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, the sweeping 2021 education law that expanded access to free, full-day pre-K for low-income, immigrant and minority families and added millions of dollars to the state’s grant program. Under state law, schools cannot deny enrollment to pre-K or kindergarten students because they are not toilet trained, and self-care skills cannot be used as a condition of admission.
Anne Arundel County Public Schools, the state’s fourth-largest district with about 84,000 students and home to the capital, Annapolis, was the latest to use the method in May. The school board unanimously approved a regulation that makes pre-K and kindergarten staff responsible for moving students toward private independence. Montgomery County, Baltimore County, and Prince George’s County have already put similar policies in place after the 2021 law takes effect.
A response to the growing reality of the classroom
District leaders are framing the policy as a practical response to a problem they say is becoming more common: too many 5-year-olds entering kindergarten unable to use the bathroom on their own, prompting Anne Arundel to wrap toilet training in the work of teachers and staff, WTOP News reported. Speaking at the district’s Board of Education meeting on May 6, Superintendent Mark T. Bedell said, “Our children should not enter kindergarten without potty training.” He went on to say that the problem is not only in his district, he said that other areas have started to write and design a curriculum to help children to be potty trained.
The law, which was unanimously adopted by the board, makes helping a child work toward toilet independence the responsibility of staff and keeps the district in compliance with state laws that require children over 5 years old to attend school regardless of whether they are toilet trained. Applies to students with and without special accommodations. Board member Joanna Bache Tobin said the program will not and should not turn children away, saying that doing so will punish them for what their parents did not do. He put the relationship between schools and families as cooperation, saying that neither side gets in the way of the other, but schools have no choice when there are vacancies.
Sonya McElroy who is the director of the special education unit for children from birth to five years, said that this situation has become a crime in schools as there are many complaints from parents who report that students are left wearing dirty underwear, diapers and pull-ups. Parents, he said, are less concerned about staff helping their children in the bathroom; under the new policy, families must fill out a consent form or provide an emergency contact who can be asked to come to the school and care for the child without delay.
Demand is increasing along with enrollment. State statistics show pre-K participation jumped from about 23,600 children in 2021 to a record 47,800 last year, prompting an enrollment freeze that left thousands of children on waiting lists.
The teachers retreated
The new jobs were not universally accepted by teachers. During Anne Arundel’s 30-day public comment period, several early childhood educators signed a letter to the board warning that routine potty training takes the burden of development off families and classroom staff. They agreed to support the children with the occasional accidents but separated that from training.
The Maryland State Education Association, the state’s largest teachers union, issued a legal directive acknowledging that toileting assistance is falling on school staff and laying out measures to reduce the liability. The union advises that two adults be present whenever a student needs personal care, that staff never leave a child unattended in the bathroom or at the changing table, that incidents are carefully documented, and that the privacy and dignity of students is maintained at all times. It also urges teachers to request supplies such as gloves, wipes and changing mats, and to contact local union representatives with questions.
District officials have repeatedly emphasized that parents are still responsible for toilet training at home, with many board members calling for stronger efforts to educate families about their role.
A national debate
Maryland’s approach sits at the end of a widening national divide over who is responsible for toilet training. Utah now requires children to be toilet trained before enrolling in public school unless they have a documented disability, and the state of Florida has proposed a similar law. Some districts take a middle ground, setting individual goals for each child and asking parents to demonstrate the plan at home.
