Wealthy Massachusetts school district to have gender-neutral bathrooms in new school 

Officials in a well-to-do Massachusetts school district plan to include large numbers of gender-neutral bathrooms in a new high school expected to cost taxpayers nearly $1 billion.

An LGBTQIA+ subcommittee helped shape restroom designs for the new Lexington High School, located in a wealthy Boston suburb. Meeting materials show the building committee reviewed several layouts and rated each option using an “equity legend,” measuring privacy and access to all-gender facilities, Mass Daily News reports. 

Documents from a February 2026 meeting give significant attention to restroom planning. One proposal features a fully gender-neutral restroom with five water closets and six sinks with no urinals. Planners gave that layout the highest efficiency rating.

Design plans also show builders could modify the traditional layout, with separate boys’ and girls’ bathrooms later. Builders could convert those bathrooms into all-gender facilities by removing a part of the lavatory wall.

The project ranks among the most expensive public school construction efforts in Massachusetts history. Lexington, about 11 miles northwest of Boston, has median home prices above $1 million; the high school serves about 2,350 students. Town voters approved the project despite criticism the price far exceeds what many communities can afford for school construction.

The Massachusetts School Building Authority will reimburse about $121 million of the project, meaning taxpayers across Massachusetts will help fund the building.

School leaders emphasized gender-inclusive restroom access during planning. Superintendent Julie Hackett wrote in a February 2026 letter discussing the project, “Bathroom inclusivity was identified as a priority in our educational plan from the outset.”

The proposed design includes more all-gender restrooms than traditional ones. Hackett wrote that the building would include “60% all-gender bathrooms and 40% gendered bathrooms throughout the building.”

Hackett said planners aimed to support “both religious and identity-based needs across our diverse school community.”

However, building committee discussions revealed disagreement over the proposal. Hackett acknowledged the divide in the letter.

“Over the course of two meetings, it became clear that SBC members held a range of views on the current design, and consensus had not been reached,” she said.

One committee member reportedly surveyed more than 100 students. Some girls raised privacy concerns about shared bathrooms.

The Lexington School Building Committee will receive updated cost estimates later this month and plans to vote on the design in April.

Lexington won’t be the only school community with this type of gender-neutral bathroom in its high school. Other communities with this bathroom model in public high schools include Portland, Oregon; St. Paul, Minnesota; and Seattle, among others.