A middle school teacher has been placed on administrative leave after a Washington middle schooler and her dad spoke up about the student’s being denied restroom access while menstruating and bleeding through her clothes.
Byllie Eighinger-Lemm, 13, a student at Yelm Middle School, said that on Tuesday, Oct. 15, she told her teacher she was having her period and needed to change her pad.
“I was straight up with her, and then, she was like, ‘go sit down,’” Eighinger-Lemm said.
The girl next texted her father, Bill Lemm, to explain that her teacher refused to give her permission to use the restroom. Lemm instructed his daughter to stand up and leave class to use the bathroom.
Eighinger-Lemm then exited the restroom covered in blood when another teacher met her in the hallway, escorted her back to the classroom to retrieve her belongings, then brought her to in-school detention.
Eighinger-Lemm said going back to the classroom had been extremely upsetting, particularly because she was aware that menstrual blood had soaked through her clothing.
“I knew that it was visible and they could see it and it was really embarrassing,” she said, and added, “and then, I was kind of scared because I was getting in trouble.”
After retrieving her clothing, the student was forced to sit in detention for 15 to 20 minutes in her soiled clothes while waiting for her father to pick her up.
Lemm said that when he was reunited with his daughter she was crying. Eighinger-Lemm stayed out of school for the remainder of the week. When she returned, the teacher involved apologized.
“That teacher, by demoralizing her the way she did, there’s no fixing that,” Lemm said as he recounted the story.
Now, father and daughter are fighting for a policy change at the school.
Eighinger-Lemm said that her goal is to make sure that the teacher involved cannot treat another student the way she was treated.
“Knowing that that could happen to someone younger than me, that [is] kind of heartbreaking,” the student said.
Following the incident, Lemm contacted officials at both the school and district level, including Yelm Superintendent Chris Woods, to notify them about what had happened. Lemm also said he made an in-person visit to the district office for the purpose of filing a formal complaint, but that a receptionist laughed at him and refused to give him any paperwork to do so. Later, Lemm said a district representative said there is no specific form for filing a complaint against a teacher.
Teri Melone, the communications director for the district, said in a statement that the district is investigating the incident and would follow up with the family when it is completed.
In an email statement to Law&Crime Wednesday, a representative from the Yelm Superintendent’s Office said, “the district has placed the teacher on administrative leave pending the outcome of an ongoing, independent investigation conducted by Clear Risk.”
This is a standard procedure to ensure a fair and thorough process. We are committed to maintaining the safety and well-being of our students and staff and will not comment further until the investigation is complete,” the statement continued.
Washington is one of many states that has what is known as a “menstrual equity” law. Under state law, school districts and private schools are required to “make menstrual hygiene products available at no cost in all gender-neutral bathrooms and bathrooms designated for female students located in schools that serve students in any of grades six through twelve.”
Schools serving grades three through five must have menstrual hygiene products available in a school health room or other location as designated by the school principal.
Although menstrual equity laws are designed to reduce stigma around menstruation, they often focus on access to menstrual hygiene products rather than access to restrooms.
Yelm is located some 60 miles south of Seattle.
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