US teacher loses job after bathroom ban led to children urinating on themselves

A Texas school teacher is reportedly “no longer employed” at the local district where she had been working after she prohibited her first-grade class from using the bathroom as punishment – causing several students to urinate on themselves.

According to a social media post from a school parent who later spoke to local news outlets, the teacher at Bartlett elementary sent a message to families on Wednesday explaining that her students had “lost their privilege to use the restroom during class because they lost their restroom badge while being in the hallway”.

“Unfortunately, we had some friends who really needed to use the restroom and ended up peeing on themselves,” said the teacher’s message, a photo of which was published on the post.

The teacher, who worked at Bartlett in the Houston-area Conroe independent school district, added: “I do want to apologize for that incident. I had [a] talk with the students about how important it is to use our thing appropriately, but please have a talk with them about that as well. For I know that if we both help them understand the rules, they will understand it better.”

The message offered apologies “for those who had an accident”, provided assurances that “they will have new badges tomorrow”, and invited parents to call the teacher if they had questions.

Soon, Bartlett’s principal, Charita Smith, sent a separate message to parents informing them that the teacher had been put on leave pending an investigation into her actions.

“I have spoken with the parents of … students who, upsettingly, had accidents,” Smith’s email said, as reported by the Houston Chronicle. “The class will have a current staff member to serve as the substitute teacher … while we complete our investigation into the matter.”

While Smith’s email suggested two students had urinated on themselves, a spokesperson for the Conroe district on Friday provided a statement to the Chronicle saying it had actually been about five. The children were also provided clean clothes after the accident, the district spokesperson’s statement said.

The spokesperson added that “the teacher is no longer employed” by the Conroe district following “a comprehensive investigation”.

“This incident is not a reflection of the thousands of exceptional educators teaching in classrooms across the district,” the spokesperson’s statement also said. “We are committed to supporting the students and families impacted by this upsetting event and are dedicated to fostering a culture of mutual respect and care among all students, families, and staff.”

Amber Johnson, the Bartlett parent who authored the social media post about the punishment that started the entire ordeal, told the Chronicle she believed “it is great” that the Conroe district acted.

But she said officials should ensure the former Bartlett teacher cannot work in education elsewhere “in the state or the United States”.

“I do want to push further to make sure she isn’t teaching any of our children,” Johnson remarked to the Chronicle. She said to Houston’s ABC affiliate: “These kids [were] traumatized and humiliated.”

While her ex-employers did not identify her, the Texas news outlet Lone Star Live as well as the Daily Mail named the teacher as Ashley Barrera.

Johnson’s social media post on Wednesday confirmed the teacher’s message was authored by a “Ms Barrera”. Furthermore, a Conroe school district webpage that previously listed Barrera as a first-grade teacher had since been deactivated.

Barrera did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

First grade in the US is the equivalent of the UK’s year two. Students are usually about seven years old.