Breaking Now News: Denver School of the Arts Introduces First Gender-Neutral Restroom

Students in Colorado's largest school district will head back to class next month, and Denver Public Schools (DPS) is making headlines with the introduction of a new multi-stall, gender-neutral restroom inside the Denver School of the Arts (DSA). This innovative restroom is the first of its kind in the district and is believed to be one of the first in the state.

"Just excited that hopefully starting next year, a lot of students will be able to actually use them and reap their benefits," said Skye O., a graduate of Denver School of the Arts and one of the students who helped bring in the gender-neutral bathroom to DSA.

After years of pushing and planning for change, Skye and her classmates are finally seeing the results of their hard work. "This turned out pretty great," Skye said.

Skye and her classmates first started advocating for these restrooms during her sophomore year because the existing options for transgender and nonbinary students were inadequate. "There were some single stall restrooms, converted staff bathrooms, but they kept getting shut down," Skye explained. "It was done out of good motivations and safety concerns but it ended up resulting in an access problem for trans and nonbinary students."

With the support of Assistant Principal John Najmulski, DSA students were able to turn their vision into reality. "We ended up making a lot of headway," Skye said.

Now, as DSA's high schoolers enter the building for their first day of school in August, they'll have both a gendered and gender-neutral option if they need to go. "This bathroom is really specifically for any student who would like to use the restroom and feel that safety and privacy," Najmulski emphasized.

This achievement is a testament to the perseverance and dedication of students like Skye. "Those conversations have happened for years which seems kind of ridiculous to talk about a bathroom for years, but that's why it's so important," Najmulski said.

DPS has single-use restrooms available to all of the district's LGBTQ+ students, but this new multi-stall restroom was designed to provide students more space, privacy, and inclusivity. Najmulski revealed that DSA is planning on putting in an additional multi-stall, gender-neutral restroom on the other side of the new campus.

What do you think?

• Do you believe all schools should implement gender-neutral restrooms?
• Should gender-neutral restrooms be a requirement by law in all public facilities?
• How can schools better support the needs of transgender and nonbinary students?