School Bathrooms: Perspectives on Safety, Surveillance, and Privacy in the Restroom

Schools are increasing surveillance in bathrooms in response to concerns about student behaviors in the restroom such as vaping, drug use, and vandalism. This study investigates how schools secure and surveil bathrooms and how stakeholders perceive these interventions. We situate school bathrooms as part of the prison industrial complex (PIC) and identify how the carceral logics of surveillance, labeling, and punishment are embedded in discussions on bathroom security. Using a single-case study design, the study draws on qualitative data collected from four demographically diverse high schools in a suburban district in the 2023-24 school year. Data sources include interviews with administrators and focus groups with teachers and students. Findings reveal schools employ a range of strategies including vape detectors, e-hall passes, and staff patrols. While most participants believed surveillance was an appropriate response to problematic behaviors like vaping in the bathroom, administrators were more supportive of surveillance technologies, whereas students and teachers expressed skepticism about security’s effectiveness and negative impact on privacy. This study highlights the expansion of carceral logics into intimate school spaces and raises critical questions about the normalization of surveillance in schools. Policymakers and practitioners should consider the ethical and practical implications of bathroom securitization, especially regarding student privacy.