A survey of more than 200 Colorado students showed that 90% of teen girls started their menstrual cycle unexpectedly at school or during a school-related activity when they did not have access to menstrual products.
Eighty percent of those girls missed school because they didn’t have a pad or tampon; 72% of them used a substitute instead of a typical menstruation product within the year before the study was conducted, such as toilet paper, paper towels and napkins; and 59% said they had difficulty affording or accessing menstrual products.
The January survey, conducted by Justice Necessary, a Colorado nonprofit that works to increase access to hygiene products, helped show that a law signed by Gov. Jared Polis Wednesday night is needed to help students to access basic needs. House Bill 1164 requires all Colorado middle and high schools to have free sanitary pads and tampons in bathrooms by 2028.
“No student should be missing school because they don’t have menstrual products,” state Sen. Janet Buckner, a co-sponsor of the bill, said during a bill signing ceremony Wednesday night at the governor’s mansion.
“This bill will help us keep children in classrooms and underscores the need for more open conversations and better support regarding menstrual products and the menstrual cycle,” she said.
Access to menstrual products is not just an urgent and occasional need in schools. All year round, families struggle to purchase pads and tampons, and their inability to afford basic hygiene products can interfere with their students’ attendance and performance in school, according to Justice Necessary, which has provided $4.25 million. of menstrual products to schools, food pantries and the Colorado government. organizations in less than four years.
Having free menstrual products at school can reduce the embarrassment that comes with unexpected bleeding in class and can help students feel supported and worthy as they learn, lawmakers said Wednesday.
“The stories I hear are that students use rags and try to wash them and reuse them as period products or not change them,” said Diane Cushman Neal, founder. and president of Necessary Justice. “All of this will lead to more health problems and that will put a greater burden of stress on our medical facilities.”
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In 2022, Denver Public Schools leaders spent nearly $20,000 on period products and dispensers for their elementary, middle and high school bathrooms. The school district, which has about 90,000 students, installed the products in 813 bathrooms. In 2023, it spent just over $1,700, according to Alyssa Adams, senior operations coordinator for Denver Public Schools, who spoke at a House Education Committee meeting in February.
“That’s not a lot for a large district,” said state Rep. Brianna Titone, a co-sponsor of the bill. “Many schools should be able to absorb these minimal costs and we hope they will see a benefit in increased attendance and performance of some of the students who will benefit from this.”
Since 2021, the Colorado Department of Education has been offering small grants to districts that cannot afford to absorb the cost of tampons and pads for students. The menstrual hygiene products grant program was funded by Senate Bill 255 that year.
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (left) signed a bill on June 5, 2024, requiring middle and high schools across the state to provide free menstrual products by 2028. State Rep. Brianna Titone, co-sponsor of the law, spoke at a bill signing ceremony on June 5, 2024, and said state lawmakers requested more funding to help provide grants to schools that purchase vintage products. “Everyone is competing for funding and it’s hard to get even this modest amount of money,” she said of the $100,000 allocated through the law to help schools purchase vintage products through a grant program. “It was a very competitive year in terms of funding,” Titone said. (Provided by Versatility Creative Group)
A school is eligible to apply for a grant if at least 50% of its students qualify for free or reduced-cost lunch, a measure of poverty. Grants awarded have ranged from $1,000 to $5,000 per school per year, according to a fiscal note for House Bill 1164. This school year, 34 schools received grants.
Senate Bill 255 allocated $100,000 to the state grant fund each year. The bill passed this year allocates an additional one-time sum of $100,000 to support schools that cannot afford menstrual products and dispensers.
The new law requires middle and high schools to provide free menstrual products in at least 25% of girls’ and gender-neutral student bathrooms by January 30. Every year thereafter, schools must increase their compliance by adding pads and tampons by 25%. of their bathrooms, until June 30, 2028, when 100% of female and gender-neutral bathrooms must be stocked with menstrual products.
Some rural schools opposed House Bill 1164 because they feared the mandate would be costly and would force them to readjust their budgets, Titone said.
“Any time you impose a mandate that costs a school money, there will be resistance,” Titone said. “But the health and dignity of the students are worth it.”
There are more than 50 Colorado schools and school districts that already offer menstrual products, according to informal tracking by Justice Necessary leaders.
In 2022, Garfield County School District 16 leaders received $4,200 through the state grant program to provide free menstrual products to elementary, middle and high school students, said Jennifer Baugh, superintendent of the school district, which serves about 1,200 Parachute and Battlement students. Low hill.
“We spent the entire grant,” he said. “Once our supplies run out, we will reapply,” she said. “We have appreciated the financial support to make menstrual products available to students who need them.”
On average, a student will use about seven school products provided by their school per school year. Each product costs about 25 cents, according to an analysis by Justice Necessary.
This isn’t the first time state lawmakers have passed a bill to make menstrual products free for certain Colorado residents.
In 2019, the state legislature passed a bill requiring jails and prisons to provide free menstrual products to incarcerated people. Then, in 2022, state lawmakers passed a law that created a sales tax exemption for all incontinence products, diapers, and menstrual products.
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Based on facts, either directly observed and verified by the journalist, or reported and verified by knowledgeable sources.
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