My question involves education law in the State of: Virginia
My sister is a 16 year old junior in a public highschool in SW Virginia. Not that it should matter, but she has a 4.2 GPA while taking saveral AP courses. She is probably one of the top 5 students in her entire grade.
She has 6 minutes to get from one class to the next. The distance between her second period class and third period class is great: Through one building, across the street, through a large parking lot, through another building and up two flights of stairs. She literally needs to run through the parking lot to make it on time.
Her third period teacher allows her students TWO bathroom trips each semester. She says the students need to use the bathroom between periods, and not during her class. The teacher says that if people must use the bathroom, they will have to remain after class for five minutes, guaranteeing they will be late for their next class. After 3 tardies, they get a lunch detention. After each successive tardy, they get after school detention.
My sister and my parents have all approached the administrators on the school about the matter. The answer they always get is that the teacher is allowed to set the rules in their class.
Is this legal? Can teachers prevent students from using the bathroom under threat of disciplinary action? If it is not legal, I would love to have someone point me to proof, that I can print out and give to my sister and parents to take to the school.
Thanks in advance.

