Kansas bill would require children to be potty-trained before entering kindergarten

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FILE - Image shows a children's potty on the floor next to toilet paper. (Getty Images) 

Lawmakers in Kansas introduced a bill that would require kindergartners to be potty-trained before being allowed to enroll in school.

Potty-trained kindergartners

Big picture view: 

House Bill 2486, which was introduced on Jan. 21, would require parents to provide "written assurance" to the school district that their children are toilet trained before enrollment.

What they're saying:

"A school district may determine that a kindergarten student is a student who is not toilet trained if the student has accidents with sufficient frequency to impact the educational experience of the student or the student's peers. Each school district shall establish a policy and procedures that the school district will use to address a kindergarten student who is found to not be toilet trained," the bill read in part. 

What does "toilet trained" mean? 

Dig deeper:

A child who is toilet trained means that they are able to "communicate the need to use the bathroom to an adult, use the toilet without any assistance from an adult and tend to personal hygienic needs after using the toilet," the bill said.

If the child does have an accident, they are able to "independently tend to hygienic needs and change clothes."

State lawmakers recognize that some children may be dealing with medical issues or could have other circumstances that have delayed their potty training.

Under "limited" situations, a parent or guardian of the child can designate "an adult individual to aid in the student’s toilet training at school." 

Do other states have this policy? 

Students in Utah are required to be potty-trained before enrolling in kindergarten, according to a Deseret News report.

The policy began in 2024 and outlines similar language to the bill proposed in Kansas this year.