Following a court decision, at least 18 schools in Scotland that previously only provided gender-neutral restrooms will now have single-sex facilities.
Aberdeenshire, Argyll and Bute, Scottish Borders, and Shetland schools intend to upgrade their facilities by installing separate restrooms for boys and girls.
Days after the Supreme Court declared that a woman is defined by biological sex under equalities law, a judge in April mandated that Scottish schools provide single-sex restrooms for students.
According to the Scottish government, local governments are legally tasked with maintaining the school grounds, which includes providing restrooms.
In Scotland, the majority of schools have single-sex restrooms, but the majority also have gender-neutral restrooms of some kind.
Since the implementation of the School Premises (General Requirements and Standards) (Scotland) Regulations 1967 nearly 60 years ago, the regulations pertaining to gender provision in school restrooms have not been updated.
Figures obtained by BBC Scotland News by freedom of information requests found 52 schools across 11 council areas offered only gender-neutral toilets.
Of those, 10 are located in Shetland, however its local authority said it now plans to provide separate facilities.
Scottish Borders, Aberdeenshire and Argyll and Bute councils are also adding separate provision.
Seven councils are yet to confirm whether their schools will comply with the ruling.
In April, a couple from the Borders took their local authority to court over the installation of only gender-neutral toilets at the new Earlston Primary School.
The judge ruled that mixed-sex schools must have single-sex toilets, but they can have gender neutral toilets in addition to that.
The council conceded that they had a legal obligation to provide male and female facilities at a hearing at the Court of Session in Edinburgh.
The following week, East Lothian Council said children in two of their primary schools with gender neutral toilets would be directed to use separate facilities in future.
Dumfries and Galloway Council said its legal team was considering its position in relation to the court ruling before deciding how to respond.
Meanwhile, City of Edinburgh Council said it was “considering what changes may need to be made” and would provide an update over the summer.
Five other councils – Clackmannanshire, East Ayrshire, North Ayrshire, Midlothian and Perth and Kinross – all confirmed they had at least one school in their area which offered no single-sex facilities.
They did not provide an update on any changes to provision since then.
South Ayrshire, Moray, Stirling and South Lanarkshire councils said none of their schools offered any gender-neutral provision.
Ministers are debating whether any adjustments to restroom provisions are necessary in light of the Supreme Court’s ruling on the definition of sex and its distinct ramifications.
The Scottish Secondary Teachers Association demanded in May that the Scottish government release new guidelines on how schools should handle single-sex spaces immediately.
