- Corpus Christi American Federation of Teachers Union vs. Corpus Christi Independent School District
- Concerns raised over potty training protocols for Pre-K3 program
- CCAFT president Nancy Vera, said she has reached out to CCISD since October 2022
- Several schools within the district impacted over lack of proper potty training protocols
On Monday, Corpus Christi American Federation of Teachers (CCAFT) union members gathered to vent their frustrations over potty training for Pre-K3 students within Corpus Christi Independent School District (CCISD).
“CCISD has compromised the health and safety of the very students with whom they are entrusted," Union president Nancy Vera, said.
Vera said she first reported the issue to the school district in October 2022. That’s when she said teachers received a contract asking them to comply with certain protocols regarding the issue.
“The contract was requiring them to change diapers and requiring them, for those children who are not potty trained, to potty train them," Vera said. "This is an addition to instruction and has 17-18 students in their classrooms.”
She mentioned that teachers also help students who have bathroom accidents while stepping away from the others in the classroom. More importantly, she claimed that CCISD has not enforced health guidelines for when teachers are finished handling the accidents.
“Feces and urine are all over the furniture, all over the floor, all over the carpets and the walls," Vera said. "In one case, it became so bad, that the custodians didn’t want to go into the classroom to clean because of the biohazards involved with cleaning of the feces and urine.”
Other union members agreed that teachers have been forced to change students’ diapers on bathroom floors because there aren’t any mats or changing tables available.
"Changing diapers is not within the scope of the job responsibility of instructionally-certified teachers," Vera said.
She added how she has constantly reached out to CCISD board members for more than a year with emails and text messages and has not received sufficient responses.
Instead, she said the district sent her a 5 step procedure on how a teacher should go about changing a student's diaper. Vera continued to enforce her idea that teachers should not be prompted to change diapers in the classroom unless properly trained and certified. Other longtime educators said they just want the district to provide a safe, healthy, and clean learning environment for not only the students but also the teachers.
“I want to ask them what are your steps?" Linda White, a former educator said. "What are you going to do about this program and their policy? What can you do today and this week that will impact students' health and safety in the classroom?”
KRIS 6 received a statement from CCISD following CCAFT's concerns:
"Corpus Christi ISD places the highest priority on student and staff health and safety. In compliance with state law, CCISD welcomes three- and four-year-old students, including those still learning to use the toilet. Schools housing pre-K programs have received extensive training on maintaining hygiene while assisting our youngest students. Additionally, the district proactively allocated funds to ensure ample supplies for all classrooms. Guidance for helping children who have had a toileting accident includes step-by-step instructions that follow American Pediatrics Association guidelines. All practices and procedures are designed to comply with state law as well as to preserve student dignity and staff safety. Upon enrollment, all parents receive and sign a parental notification form outlining district protocol in the event of an accident. Since the beginning of the 2023-2024 school year, the district has not received any parent concerns on this topic. Parents with specific concerns regarding specific classrooms should contact the school principal, who is glad to help ensure a clean, welcoming environment in all classrooms. Likewise, staff members needing additional support, training, or supplies are encouraged to speak with their principal as well. School and district staff regularly visit preschool classrooms and find them to be clean, active areas where students are receiving research-based early childhood education to prepare them for their K-12 experience. We are pleased to share that CCISD preschool graduates are more likely to enter kindergarten on level than those who have not had the benefit of early childhood education."
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