Mom says 12-year-old was denied bathroom at school, then forced to sit in class with wet pants

By Alex Bozarjian

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    HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — A mother is furious after she claims her daughter wet herself after not being allowed to use the bathroom at school.

This happened on Jan. 24 at the Harmony School of Excellence, which is part of the Harmony Public Schools.

To add insult to injury, April Smith said her daughter was sent back to class in wet pants.

The district said the employees involved in this situation have all been put on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation. They did not specify how many employees were put on that status.

“She grabbed her arm and went like this,” Jaila Burchett said, describing the physical barrier that was put between her and the bathroom she so desperately needed to use.

She was in between classes at the time. Jaila said a teacher monitoring the halls that morning told her students were not allowed to use the bathroom during transition periods–no exceptions.

“I walked back to class, and on my way there, I fell, and I peed on myself,” Jaila said.

Smith said she was confused when she got Jaila’s text about what had happened.

“She’s 12. ‘Why would you pee on yourself?’ She told me a teacher essentially blocked her from using the restroom, and they didn’t have any pants for her, so she needed pants,” Smith said.

Smith said the school nurse sent Jaila back to class with her jeans drenched in urine.

She said they never called to notify her about any of this. She had to call them.

“So, I told the front desk to bring her to the front office so she could get some dry pants,” Smith said.

A receipt from Insta Cart shows that Smith, who was at work, had to resort to ordering fresh pants and underwear to the school.

“It is just inhumane, so Jaila didn’t go to school on Monday. I let her decompress all weekend, and on Tuesday, I called the dean back to see what actions were taken,” Smith said.

Smith said she was initially told no employees involved would be disciplined.

In a statement to ABC13, the Harmony Public School District said Jaila was not flat-out blocked from using the bathroom. She was told to get a bathroom pass and come back.

Chief Communication and Marketing Officer John Boyd said in part, “Unfortunately, an accident occurred before the student was able to do so. We are continuing to look into the unfortunate matter.”

“I don’t think I would ever trust a school like that anymore,” Jaila said.

She said the school failed to protect her.

On Wednesday, Smith decided to withdraw Jaila from the school, and now she’s considering legal action.

“I understand that there has to be structure and there has to be policies, but for a 12-year-old to be forced to use the restroom on themselves and to go to class and sit in their wet pants is unacceptable,” Smith said.

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