Lawmakers Prioritize Menstrual Hygiene

An unexpected topic has jumped to the forefront of public attention in the current national election cycle: Period poverty. More specifically, the choice to make menstrual products available at no cost in public facilities, including K-12 schools, colleges and universities, office buildings, libraries, and other spaces where people gather. 

 Democratic Vice Presidental nominee Tim Walz, currently the governor of Minnesota, has been subjected to both approval and scorn in the news media and on social media for signing a school funding bill into law in 2023 that contains a provision that guarantees access to free menstrual products for Minnesota students grades 4-12 in all school districts and charter schools. Minnesota is not the first state to do this, but the current focus on Walz provides an opportunity to discuss the broader concern of period poverty and the role that facilities management can play when it comes to providing menstrual supplies in public restrooms.  

What is Period Poverty?

The American Medical Women's Association defines period poverty as “the lack of accessibility or affordability of menstrual hygiene tools and educational materials, such as sanitary products, washing facilities, and waste management.” The term also includes reference to the increased economic pressure that menstruating people face due to the cost of purchasing supplies. Individuals who face problems affording menstrual products may feel they need to stay home from school or work, which can have lasting consequences on their education and economic opportunities. 

How widespread is the problem? A 2021 study conducted by U by Kotex, a feminine hygiene products company, showed that two in five people (40 percent) have struggled to purchase period products, a 35 percent increase from the brand's initial research in 2018. Over one-third (38 percent) of low-income women report missing work, school, or similar events due to lack of access to period supplies. 

In addition, taxes on menstrual products have increased the overall cost. In the U.S., as of May 14, 2024, 20 states charge sales tax on period products (as they are considered “luxury items”). The state sales taxes range from 4 percent to 7 percent. In many locations, cities and counties impose an additional local sales tax. 

Nearly seven in ten (68 percent) people agree that period poverty is a public health issue, yet only 4 percent of Americans are aware of a local resource where free or reduced-cost period supplies are available. Meanwhile, 86 percent of women have reported that they've started their period in public without the supplies they needed.  

What Can Be Done? 

Currently, there is work underway to remove the stigma of menstrual supplies as being something private, or considered a “luxury item,” when they are in-fact as vital to hygiene as other restroom supplies, including toilet tissue, hand soap, paper towels, hand dryers, and waste receptacles. When managing public facilities, stocking and maintaining restroom spaces should be done with the comfort and safety of all building occupants in mind. 

As of July 16, 2024, in the U.S., 28 states and Washington, D.C., have passed legislation to help students who menstruate have free access to period products while in school. The details of these mandates vary. Some bills include state funding to make products available, while other mandates are unfunded. Some require that menstrual products be available in middle- and high-school restrooms, while others include elementary schools. Some legislation also requires period products in college and university restrooms. 

One of the states that most recently funded menstrual products in K-12 schools is Pennsylvania, when the state's 2024-25 budget was signed into law on July 11, 2024.  

“A $3 million investment for free menstrual hygiene products in Pennsylvania schools was included in the final bipartisan 2024-25 budget that Governor Josh Shapiro signed into law,” says Neil Ruhland, deputy press secretary for Pennsylvania's Department of Health. “This provision in the budget will make menstrual hygiene products available at no cost in Pennsylvania schools so students can have peace of mind and focus on academic learning, school attendance, and health.” 

He adds that, “The (PA) Department of Education and the Department of Health are currently working together to establish guidelines to distribute the $3 million in funding to schools in the coming weeks to provide products, such as tampons and pads, at no cost to girls in school via a grant application process.” 

In states where providing menstrual supplies in schools and universities has been required by law, campus facilities departments are stepping up to manage the process. In California, the Menstrual Equity for All Act of 2021 requires public schools with grades 6-12 to stock an adequate and free supply of products in women’s and all-gender restrooms, and at least in one men’s restroom, as well as in all state universities and the community college districts within the state. Examples of Facilities Departments managing this service include Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, and UCLA in Los Angeles.