House Passes Expansion of Femine Hygiene Products in Schools

Last week, the House joined the Senate in passing Senator Kyle Evans Gay’s Senate Bill 205 unanimously. This bill expands the availability of free feminine hygiene products to all public and charter schools that have grades 4 through 6.

With 1 out of 5 teenagers struggling to afford period products, this will increase access to these essential supplies for low-income students.

Senate Bill 205 Sponsors	Yes Votes	No Votes
Gay, Townsend, Hansen, S.McBride, Pinkney, Poore, Sokola	Senate Passes 21-0. Brown Ennis Gay Hansen Lockman Mantzavinos Paradee Pinkney Poore S.McBride Sokola Sturgeon Townsend Walsh Bonini Hocker Lawson Lopez Pettyjohn Richardson Wilson
Longhurst, Moore, Baumbach, Brady, Carson, Heffernan, K.Johnson, Lynn, Morrison, Wilson-Anton, Briggs King, M.Smith	House Passes 40-0-1. Baumbach Bennett Bentz Bolden Freel Bush Carson Cooke Dorsey-Walker Griffith Heffernan K.Johnson K.Williams Kowalko Lambert Longhurst Lynn Matthews Minor-Brown Mitchell Morrison Osienski S.Moore Schwartzkopf Wilson-Anton  Briggs King Collins D.Short Dukes Gray Hensley M.Smith Morris Postles Ramone Shupe Smyk Spiegelman Vanderwende Yearick	Absent: Chukwuocha
Current Status:	Sent to the Governor.

Senator Gay: “Access to menstrual products should be a guarantee, not a luxury. We know that 1 in 4 girls have missed class due to a lack of access to period products, and that many families struggle to afford them.”

“Last year, I was proud to sponsor House Bill 20, which guaranteed that feminine hygiene products would be made available in public and charter school restrooms for students in grades 6-12. This was a critical step to address period equity, ensuring that menstruating students have the resources they need to focus on their education.So today, with the help of teachers, parents, and education advocates, I am excited to say that we are expanding this legislation to include feminine hygiene products for 4th and 5th grade students. Thank you to my colleagues for passing Senate Bill 205.”