Editorial: Bathroom 'passports' showed problems of overreach in addressing issues

School officials in St. Charles - and policymakers everywhere, for that matter - are getting an important lesson about making rules that apply to everyone based on the actions of a few.

Tread lightly.

The principal at Wredling Middle School says teachers there will stop issuing passports that limited the number of times students could leave class during a quarter to use the bathroom. Similar rules were adopted or being considered at other schools in St. Charles Unit District 303, although officials emphasized there is no overriding policy on the subject.

The rules led, understandably, to an uproar on social media, described in a story last week by our James Fuller. Administrators and teachers ought not be faulted for trying to address an issue they considered disruptive to their mission of educating kids - the misuse of bathroom privileges by some students or, in the words of one administrator, the need for better time management by others. But a response that restricted all students in a given class because of the shortcomings of a few was intrusive and a bit myopic.

Childhood obesity is an epidemic. And it's not just too many drive-through meals and too much X-Box that are making our kids fat. Chronic dehydration is another factor. Few of us get the hydration we need to keep us awake and alert, maintain good blood pressure and cholesterol, clear our skin, lubricate our joints, flush out toxins, maintain a healthy weight and keep us young. Weight loss experts will tell you hydration is just as important as diet and exercise.

So, on educational grounds alone, a blanket policy restricting bathroom breaks is problematic. And, there were practical issues as well.

"When nature calls, it calls," said mother Samantha Tubekis. "No air conditioning at Haines (Middle School), so they want them to drink a lot of water. Well, guess what happens then?"

Responding to such outcries, Wredling Principal Steve Morrill said teachers and administrators have met to discuss the policy. Now, he said, they will still monitor bathroom use or any other trips out of classrooms, aiming to limit disruptions and maintain awareness of possible medical conditions that could cause frequent bathroom trips, but students will not be limited from using the bathroom if they really need to.

"At no time, even with that (passport) procedure, were we keeping students from using the bathroom," Morrill said. "That sort of limitation would never be tolerated."

To be sure, not all kids - certainly not those in middle school - are expert at time management. And some kids will ask to be excused from class for frivolous reasons and some will get up to no good. But officials are wise not to throw the babies out with the bath water. If we're trying to teach our kids about healthy living, we should encourage them to drink more water, not less. Especially when their school is not air-conditioned.

Kids abusing the system and those with special needs - those who need more frequent or longer breaks than a 4-minute passing period will allow - are just pieces of the complex puzzle facing educators. There are other ways to deal with the problem kids. Officials are wise, as this controversy teaches us, to structure policies that take into account the whole puzzle.