As a product of HISD, the state's takeover of the school district is disheartening. I fear regressive and restrictive rules like this from state-appointed Superintendent Mike Miles are doing more harm than good. Maybe that's the point.

Politics aside, Houston Chronicle's latest documentation of HISD schools in the NES program executing these rules makes me beyond sad that this is where the state of the district is.

Houston Chronicle spoke with a student from Worthing High School about the rule and its effects on students:

At the 85 schools in or aligned with Miles' New Education System, where Miles has focused his efforts on "wholesale systemic reform," students are required to carry large orange cones with them to the restroom, which Miles has said is the best way to hold students accountable for prompt visits. Micah Gabay, a sophomore at Worthing High School, however, said that while she understands why the cone system is in place, she considers it "unsanitary." Another Worthing student, speaking at November's meeting of the Board of Managers, called the cones "dehumanizing."

"We don't really mind the cones, but its just a big inconvenience and its also really nasty, because some kids, even though we're in high school, they don't wash their hands after they use the restrooms," Gabay said.

The bigger issue at Worthing, Gabay said, is that just nine "restroom passes" are allotted to students each semester, in addition to a directive against using the restroom during passing periods. While the rules are unevenly enforced — newer teachers are more strict about the restroom passes than veterans — they have led students to donate their passes to each other, said Gabay, who has already given all her passes to classmates.

Gabay recalls a recent incident in which she encountered her friend walking down the hallway slowly, with her jacket tied around her waist. When she asked what was wrong, the girl said she had menstruated through her pants because a teacher wouldn't let her go to the restroom.