When students return to Christiansburg High School for classes on Wednesday, they’ll find at least one large “open plan” gender-neutral and multiple-stall bathroom.

Parents are raising the alarm.

“I would have been mortified at that age,” Alecia Vaught, 49, who has two grandchildren at the southwestern Virginia school, told The Daily Signal about the bathroom situation.

The Daily Signal obtained photos of signs with symbols depicting a woman, a man, a half-man/half-woman, and a wheelchair. While the individual stalls have higher walls to increase privacy, the gender-neutral open concept means that teen boys and girls will share a handwashing space in view from the hallway.

While the architect in charge of the renovation plans defended the open bathroom as an attempt to prevent bullying and certain illicit activities, parents raised privacy concerns.

A Facebook user posted a photo of the bathroom in a Christiansburg High School Alumni group.

When approached for comment, the school district did not deny the gender-neutral sign in the photo or clarify the policy. Instead, Andrew Webb, communications coordinator at Montgomery County Public Schools, sent a photo of a sign that said “Gold Restroom.”

Vaught, the grandmother, mentioned that teenage girls who are experiencing their first periods would find it extremely embarrassing to share an open space with boys.

“Could you imagine just starting [your period] for the first time and not being able to get what you need?” she asked.

Vaught also........

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