The harsh restriction of the 15 minute bathroom policy is causing misery to most students. This 15 minute policy makes it so that students aren’t permitted to go to the restroom in the first or last 15 minutes. Students have become accustomed to holding and ignoring the need to use the restroom because of this rule, but this may be a struggle for some students. There are emergency cases like menstrual cycles and the medical risks that can occur if people dismiss their need to use the restroom are important factors to consider. Hence, the school should consider a shift of waiting five minutes before and after instead of 15 minutes.

The 15 minute bathroom policy does not take menstrual cycles into consideration. Even though periods can be tracked on apps like Clue or Flo which tells them the day it may begin, periods can switch up on you and end up happening earlier or later despite how accurate the data is. Another issue is that the time it happens isn’t predictable, so it might not happen at home but can end up happening at school, or in class. If it happens during class in the beginning of the 15 minutes of class, although periods are considered an emergency students may feel embarrassed to tell their teachers the situation. Due to embarrassment they would sit in silence dealing with uncomfort because they cannot go to the restroom because they were locked as a result of the 15 minute rule. There shouldn’t be a long amount of time restricting the restrooms because it will prolong the discomfort when someone is on their period.

Additionally, the bathroom policy makes it impossible to use the restroom without it being a hassle. The girls restroom has a frequent issue of long lines. These long lines lead to people waiting in line while they fight the urge to hold it in to save themselves from the embarrassment of peeing themselves. On the other hand, holding it in can be very dangerous as the aftermath can cause one to develop health issues. These health issues can be causing your bladder to weaken, and maybe even escalate to developing a urinary tract infection. Therefore, changing the bathroom policy to a shorter wait time would be beneficial as it could help lower the chances of dangerous health issues. Dr. Rebecca Smith on Sharp.com stated that holding your urine can back up and cause swelling to one's kidneys and result in an infection. This can escalate to damage the kidneys and the infection can even spread to the bloodstream, leading to one experiencing serious health issues all because they were denied access to using the restroom.

While we realize that the 15 minute bathroom policy was created so students do not miss crucial information in the first and last 15 minutes of class with Do Nows and Exit Tickets, however, the health of students should come first. Students' comfort and their bodies should take priority over a bathroom policy.