One of the many changes that has taken place at Pleasant Valley high school this school year is the remodeling of the seven faculty bathrooms into unisex bathrooms. Many students have seen these bathrooms and have questioned what a unisex bathroom is. A unisex bathroom is not only for people who no longer identify with the gender on their birth certificate; it is for everyone to use.

These new bathrooms became important after the Obama administration issued a directive to all schools across America to allow transgender students to use the bathroom and locker room they identify with. Although this directive is not a law, schools who do not abide by it can lose federal aid. The risk of losing aid makes it hard for schools not to abide by this new directive. One of the states strongly opposed to this directive is North Carolina. The state passed their own bill saying you must use the bathroom of the sex on your birth certificate. After signing the bill, the governor of North Carolina, Pat McCrory, tweeted, “Ordinance defied common sense, allowing men to use women’s bathroom/locker room for instance. That’s why I signed bipartisan bill to stop it.” This bill has gotten North Carolina wrapped in many lawsuits for being discriminatory.

The state of Iowa is known for being progressive when it comes to enforcing that everyone has equal rights. Since Iowa upholds this directive, any transgender student at Pleasant Valley can use whatever bathroom they want; however, for their safety and other students’ safety, the school decided to build unisex bathrooms instead. Mike Zimmer, principal, said, “I need to be respectful of all students.” Zimmer also added, “We have many students and faculty that would not be comfortable having transgender students in bathrooms.”

Having these bathrooms does not always help people feel more accepted. One student reported, “I only go in during class because I am scared that someone that sees me will jump to conclusions.” This is new to everyone and as a country we must keep moving forward.

There is a lot of stigma around the Obama administration’s decision to go through with this directive. CNN reports that the administration says, “Transgender students should enjoy a supportive and nondiscriminatory school environment.”