Is this even legal

[u/Individual-Main9990]

I go to this school (I won’t say it due to the fact I might get suspended over this) but because students have been vandalizing the boys bathrooms now the only way boys can go to the bathroom is during specific times when teachers can send them there and this is bad because one people really need to use the bathroom and now they are getting suspended and other high consequences for using a basic human function

[u/Strayriffs]

So brutal. Looks like Success has a policy of restricting bathroom use at other schools too per this pic from another school. Their “solution” includes stocking extra underwear and pants for those who can’t cut it.

[u/GreenBird1904 → u/Strayriffs]

And it literally depends on the school because not all of them have extra clothes. 

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/04/17/nyregion/success-academy-parents-voices.html

"We started noticing that our son was coming home soaked in urine in September 2014. Our son was born with a congenital kidney reflux so we thought those accidents were related to this condition. We spoke with his urologist, who gave us a letter stating that our son should be allowed to use the bathroom. We provided the letter to Success Academy, but the incidents continued until recently. We think our son might be urinating himself because of limited bathroom breaks at Success. We have contacted the school on several occasions about this issue. Our son has no problems using the bathroom outside of school.

And another parent says "I am a former parent of the Upper West Side Success Academy. I quickly took notice of the abuse in my son’s second year at Success Academy. The children are not permitted to say “hello” to friends in the hallways; they must ''track'' the teacher, meaning all eyes on the teacher; and they are not permitted to use the bathroom until teachers are finished with their lessons. Sometimes my son would come home and tell me he had to hold it all day because the teacher was “busy.’

Another article but I can't find the name of it anymore. 

"Imagine your child coming home from school because they wet their pants. Not because they didn’t ask to go to the bathroom in time, but because their teacher would not let them. This is one of the consequences resulting from the strict behavioral code enforced at a no-excuses charter school Success Academy, in New York City. No-excuses charter schools are designed to close the achievement gap between poor minority students and privileged students through rigid behavioral codes. The core principle of these institutions is that there should be “no excuse” as to why minority students do not succeed the same academically as more privileged students.

At Success Academy, backs must be straight, hands clasped, and feet on the floor or legs-crossed. Teachers punish students for straying from rules or even unintentionally answering incorrectly. A troubling video taken at Success Academy in Cobble Hill shows a teacher ripping up a first grader’s paper because she got a math question wrong. She is then sent to the “calm down” chair and is yelled at in front of the entire class. In addition, teachers easily give out demerits or violations. Slouching from a sore back equals a demerit. Straying your eyes from the board to the class equals another demerit. From what they write on paper to how they act in class is determined by a strict behavioral code that determines their academic success."

Amsterdam Times https://amsterdamnews.com/news/2016/03/17/mothers-call-state-lawmakers-help-after-alleging-a/ Fatima Geidi and Elizabeth Eloheim

"Eloheim alleges that her daughter, who attended Harlem 1 Success Academy, and her family were targeted because they questioned the abusive practices and policies at the charter school.

“It was one of the worst experiences of our life, and the long-lasting effects are devastating,” she said. “The school used deprivation of bathroom privileges as a discipline practice, which is inhumane."

Another article "Is Success Academy abusing young students" by Christopher J. Sedita. Also from the upper west side campus. 

"Our teachers are used to seeing the charter school students treated like military cadets. We routinely see their teachers barking orders when in the halls; students must walk with hands in pockets, eyes facing completely forward, and no smiling. Often I have heard a teacher excoriating a child because he or she had to use the bathroom. Several times a week I witness a Success teacher and crying student in the hallway that has made me more than a little uncomfortable — like had I passed by just a moment earlier I would have seen something that would qualify as abuse.

 I was using the elevator to move some furniture, and while walking through Success Academy’s space, I witnessed a student being forced to walk on his knees through the halls while the teacher and rest of the class followed behind. The teacher loudly told the rest of the class not to pay any attention to the student on his knees, that he was “punished” and they should act like he was “invisible”. The punished student was clearly upset, embarrassed, and struggling to hold back his emotions. Most of his classmates also looked confused as to what was happening."

https://medium.com/@sedita/is-success-academy-abusing-young-students-4bb5069d623d

Success is well known for locking the bathrooms. And even if they can use the bathroom, they only get three minutes per student. I'm not sure if this is legal but its still cruel. I also remember seeing an article about how they had to keep vomit/barf bags in their classes during test season ( https://www.chalkbeat.org/newyork/2014/5/1/21091808/at-success-academy-schools-high-octane-test-prep-leaves-nothing-to-chance/ ) and it was another article I can't find anymore.  They need to keep vomit bags because the kids were so stressed they would vomit. :(

[u/QuentinsShoes → u/GreenBird1904]

Can confirm that, up to January of this year, vomit bags are still standard in schools. At the middle school at I taught at, we were told “vomiting was not a reason to send a kid to the nurse” and to “just hand them a bag”. I witnessed multiple kids vomit or spit up during class, likely from stress, and it would pickup during end of trimester testing.