Are there any rules or regulations that allow a male SPTA to not change a girls?

Question

I was substitute teaching in a special education program. The regular SPTA was out. A male SPTA from another class was sent in to help with diapers. He refused to change any of the girls. He said he was not comfortable and felt it was inappropriate for him to change a girl. Two girls had to wait for almost an hour for another assistant to come change them. I did not change them because I could not get all of the other 8 children into the bathroom and keep them all safe while changing the two girls. The office staff agreed with him said he should not be changing girls only boys. All of the boys in the class were toilet trained.

Answer 1

There may be no written laws or regulations, but this is one of those areas where common sense and a healthy dose of caution can come into play.  This was a sub, not the regular aide.  The parents of these kids did not know him and, quite possibly, would not want a male changing thier female children.  As there was no one to act as an observer, the male aide was right is saying it was inapproprite for him to change the female students.  The school was right to be cautious..to do otherwise left the school and the program open for litigation that could lead to budgetting problems, staffing issues and myriad other issues.  While having to wait an hour was a bit extreme...I would suggest asking the admin to come down and wait with the class next time while you address the girl's needs or leaving them with the aide if that is permissable...it was probably the best choice.  I would however, inform the parents of the situation and ask that in the event the class has a male sub again, what their preferences are...allowing the male aide to handle bathroom issues, have the male aide do so with the support of a femaled observer or agreeing to wait until a female staff member is available.  This should come from the admin, not from you and be kept on file.  In that way, the situation is addressed, you will have worked out how to handle the issues if it arises again and no parents will be calling when they find this out unexpectedly at a later date.

Answer 2

There are no specific rules and regulations related to this issue. I work with children with developmental disabilities and the male teacher's assistant's, teacher's, and behavior specialists never supervise female students in the bathroom.

It seems that the problem does not lie with him anyway. As soon as he said he was uncomfortable the matter should be dropped. He has a right to feel safe and secure in his workplace. Nobody can force him to change members of the opposite s*x.

My question is, why were you alone with eight students? The bigger problem seems exist within whatever program you are working or. There is no excuse for leaving two girls sitting in dirty diapers for an hour. Another staff member should have been brought in to help. If the children were in diapers, meaning most of them were pre-school aged, I doubt you were at ratio. In some states, leaving a child in a diaper for an hour can be construed as neglect and the school could get in trouble.

I know that's probably not the answer you were looking for. Sorry you were placed in such an impossible situation.

Answer 3

I work wit mentally and physically challenged adults,many in adult attends.There are no regulations ,unless specified by the institute where you work,if this is a policy then I would ask to see it.If you can change boys then why can he not change girls.

Answer 4

Why could he not supervise the other children while you toileted the girls?

Most workplace do have a female to female rule when toileting girls and young women, but I am not aware of any actual regulations or legalizations.

However there is the moral and ethical issues of male support workers changing girls and young women with disabilities by a male support worker. Except to say that male support workers etc, must take precautions when toileting females, by having another female staff member with them. (I have toileted a young teenage girl with the support of a male staff member as there was no one else to assist, we asked her if it was ok first and mum was told about it later)

What I find odd is we females can toilet boys/men with out batting an eye, yet men a questioned as to why they have toileted a girl/female.

I feel for both the male staff member and the students who had to wait to be toileted. But I do feel that he did do the right thing, to protect himself and the students.

I think most parents would be mortified to know a male toileted their daughter.

Also if the female is a Muslim then it has to be female to female.

We live in a world where everything we say and do is scrutinized, and this can be at the well being of the students and clients with a disability.

Answer 5

I absolutely agree with the male SPTA. It is completely inappropriate for him to change a girl's diapers. My sister works in a group home and they only allow women to change the girl's and the men to change the boys. There have been so many cases where special ed children have been molested by their teachers when they were alone changing diapers or toileting them. This has happened to children I know. I know that everyone is fingerprinted now, but it still happens. Why put the children unnecessarily at risk? If you couldn't change the diapers why don't they have someone who can? Maybe he could have supervised the kids while you or someone changed the diapers.

Answer 6

I work as an aid in a Middle School and I am not allowed to help toilet a boy who is in a wheel chair. Not because of anything zi have done but because the student can't aid in helping me he has to have a male or the school nurse work with him. You said the man said he was not comfortable that may be the only reason he didn't help but he should have helped you in monitoring the rest of the class until you were able to finish. The big question is where was the TEACHER?

I have worked with special needs students and the teacher is the one who is responsible for them she or he is the one who will lose their job and they are the ones who have to account for the paperwork on each child and the amount of times they were changed.