How to Work Toward Menstrual Equity in Your School

When it comes to providing for the needs of menstruating students, there is a very wide range of support from state to state. New Jersey, the home state of Girls Helping Girls. Period. passed a law in 2023 that requires period products to be available for free in half the girls’ school bathrooms starting in the 2024 school year, with the state picking up the tab.

A handful of states also fully fund this effort to create menstrual equity in schools, but sadly, many states provide no funding or do not even require menstrual products to be available.

Here are some tips for creating a more productive, compassionate, and equitable space for students in your community.

❶ If your school has period products, but they are only located in the nurse’s office, ask that there also be a stock in the bathroom where students need them. Pads in the nurse’s office are helpful for students who are shy or who need help, but everyone else should be able to manage themselves in the bathrooms and get back to class.

❷ If you are a teacher or staff member at school, be mindful that a student who asks to use the bathroom may need to manage their period immediately. Asking them to wait until after the class is over isn’t practical. Consider how you’d feel if you were told you could not leave a staff meeting until the end… except you’re an adolescent. This truly can affect self-esteem.

❸ This may shock you, but we do not recommend collecting donated period products for use in schools. Doing so sends a message to the school board that budgeting for them is unnecessary. Speak to your administration about your concerns. Reach out to your local legislators (who do not know what’s important to you otherwise). If you know students are in need, collecting items that can be sent home with them is a wonderful endeavor.

❹ Explicitly teach students how to use period products. Handing them pads and tampons is not enough. They must understand, for example, how long it takes to use them safely and how to properly dispose of them. We are thrilled about the new law in NJ, but it is clear from years of teaching workshops in our schools that students do not know what you think they do, and they desperately want to. (Schools generally do not cover this!)

❺ Offer your non-menstruating children some period products to put in their lockers or backpacks to support their friends. Helping them become allies is a fantastic way to give them a stake in the fight for equity.

Forming a coalition of people in your community is a great way to support students in this effort. Though menstrual equity and period poverty have been steadily in the headlines for a decade, many people are still not aware of the actual toll that not having period products has on students.