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Universal access to menstrual hygiene products
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Pending Bills with State Agencies
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Status of States with Universal Access Laws
Status of States with Universal Access Laws
To date, 33 states with the inclusion of Washington D.C. have passed laws addressing the need for menstrual hygiene products in school restrooms, while 11 states have legislation pending. Those numbers balloon to 19 states considering new bills when you take into account state buildings, prisons and homeless shelters. These laws generally require free menstrual care products in school restrooms, while some extend the requirement to restrooms in all public spaces.
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Key Activity in States with Passed Bills
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State |
Summary of Activity |
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California |
Code 3409SummaryA person incarcerated in state prison who menstruates or experiences uterine or vaginal bleeding shall, upon request, have access to, and be allowed to use, materials necessary for personal hygiene with regard to their menstrual cycle and reproductive system, including, but not limited to, sanitary pads and tampons, at no cost to the incarcerated person. |
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California |
AB 10SummaryRequires public schools to provide menstrual care products in restrooms at no cost to students. Quote“To me this bill is not just about a medical necessity, but about access to education. A lot of young women tell us that they miss school because they cannot afford these products.” - Assembly Member Cristina Garcia |
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Oregon |
HB 3294SummaryEach public education provider shall ensure that both tampons and sanitary pads are available at no cost to students through dispensers located in at least two student bathrooms of every public school building. Quote“This bill is for all our students who have missed school due to lack of menstrual product availability. Our students deserve to learn with dignity.” -Representative Ricki Ruiz |
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Oregon |
HB 2515SummaryRequires correctional facilities to provide tampons, sanitary pads, postpartum pads and panty liners to certain incarcerated persons at no cost. |
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Washington |
HB 1273SummaryBy the beginning of the 2022-23 school year, school districts and private schools in the State of Washington must make menstrual hygiene products available at no cost in all gender-neutral bathrooms and bathrooms designated for female students located in schools that serve students in any of grades six through twelve. |
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Nevada |
AB 224SummaryAB224 was signed into law by Nevada Gov. Sisolak, requiring charter schools, middle, junior and high schools to provide menstrual products in school bathrooms. Quote“At the end of the day, I can’t stress this enough, that it is a bodily function and we don’t ask people to carry around toilet paper or hand soap, and pads and tampons shouldn’t be treated any differently.” -Samantha Glover, Student Activist |
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Arizona |
HB2222SummaryThe Arizona Department of Corrections announced that it is changing its policy and will provide free tampons to inmates. The department also announced it would triple the minimum number of free pads that inmates receive per month to 36, from 12. |
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Arizona |
SB 1720SSummaryThis appropriation bill provides a one-time $2M for menstrual care products for the fiscal year 2023-2024 to district public and charter schools. (Sec. 31, PAGE 36) |
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Utah |
HB162SummaryThis bill requires local school boards and charter school governing boards to provide period products in certain restrooms within all school facilities. |
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Colorado |
SB21-255SummaryFree Menstrual Hygiene Products To Students: Provides menstrual hygiene products at no expense to students, and, in connection therewith, making an appropriation. For the 2021-22 state fiscal year, $100,000 is appropriated from the general fund to the department of education to implement the act. Quote“We know that a lack of access to pads or tampons puts students at risk in a multitude of ways. Menstrual hygiene products ARE essential health products. It’s time that we ensure that, just like their non-menstruating peers, students have everything they need in school bathrooms.” -Leslie Herod, Colorado State Representative |
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Colorado |
HB19-1224SummaryThe act requires the following facilities to provide whichever menstrual hygiene products are requested by a person in custody to the person in custody at no expense to the person in custody: Local jails, multijurisdictional jails, and municipal jails; Correctional facilities and private contract prisons; and Department of human services facilities. |
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New Mexico |
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Nebraska |
Policy ChangeSummaryDepartment of Correctional Services bypassed the legislative process when it announced last month that all generic tampons and pads will be provided for free and that it will only charge inmates for name-brand supplies. |
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Minnesota |
HF 2497SummaryA school district or charter school must provide students with access to menstrual products at no charge. Quote"Helping students who regularly miss school stay in class is a wise investment. Chronic absenteeism costs a lot more than free period products . . ." - Rep. Sandra Feist |
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Missouri |
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Arkansas |
HB1611 / Act 933SummaryAn act concerning feminine hygiene products in public schools and open-enrollment public charter schools; To allow public schools and open-enrollment public charter schools to use funding to provide feminine hygiene products at no charge in each public school and open-enrollment public charter school; And for other purposes. QuoteTo allow public schools and open-enrollment public charter schools to use funding to provide feminine hygiene products at no charge in each public school and open-enrollment public charter school |
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Louisiana |
SB558SummaryGov. John Bel Edwards signed a new law that will give women in prison access to as many tampons and sanitary napkins as they need free of charge. |
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Illinois |
HB 641SummaryThe bill requires all public universities and community colleges across the state to provide free feminine hygiene products in campus bathrooms. Quote“Period poverty is a public health crisis, and these laws will enhance the everyday lives of people struggling to afford necessary menstrual hygiene products,” State Senator Karina Villa said. “Access and affordability of period products will no longer be a barrier to a student’s proper education or a person’s well-being in Illinois.” |
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Illinois |
HB310SummaryBill requires all homeless shelters that grant temporary housing to women and youth to provide products such as sanitary napkins, tampons and panty liners free of charge, if their budget allows for it. Effective January 1, 2022 Quote“People who have been deprived of so much should not be forced to use other items as makeshift sanitary products,” said state Sen. Christopher Belt (D-Swansea). “I cannot personally imagine the indignity women in homeless shelters feel. Today, however, is a step toward ensuring no one else has to feel the pain or embarrassment of not having clean, safe feminine hygiene products.” |
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Illinois |
HB4218SummaryProvides that menstrual hygiene products are available free of charge to all institutions and facilities of the Department of Corrections for all committed persons and employees who menstruate |
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Tennessee |
HB 1483SummaryEach Local Education Association in Tennessee is authorized to provide feminine hygiene products at no charge in women’s/girl’s bathrooms for all eligible schools. Quote“There are so many (girls) that have a family budget that cannot afford these products. They’re not coming to school. It’s embarrassing, and it destroys their dignity.” - TN Senator Sara Kyle |
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Mississippi |
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Mississippi |
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Michigan |
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Michigan |
HB 5426SummaryProvides that tampons and sanitary napkins shall be made available free of charge in all women’s restrooms in state owned facilities. |
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Michigan |
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Kentucky |
Section 441.055SummaryAll minimum standards promulgated by the department applying to county jails and correctional or detention facilities shall include requirements for adequate nutrition for pregnant prisoners, an adequate number of hygiene products for female prisoners, and an appropriate number of undergarments for female prisoners. |
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Ohio |
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Alabama |
HB50SummaryThis bill would require local boards of education to provide feminine hygiene products in women's restrooms at schools under the board's jurisdiction QuoteRelating to public K-12 education; to require local boards of education to provide feminine hygiene products in women's bathrooms of certain schools at no cost to students. |
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Alabama |
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Florida |
HB 49SummaryFemale inmates will now get basic hygiene products such as pads and tampons for free after Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the Dignity for Incarcerated Women Act. |
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Florida |
HB 389SummaryThe bill provides that school districts may make menstrual hygiene products available in each school within the district, at no charge. The menstrual hygiene products may be located in the school nurse's office, other physical school facilities for health services, and in school restrooms, including wheelchair-accessible restrooms. |
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Georgia |
SB 91SummaryGeorgia lawmakers set aside money in the 2020 $27.5 billion state budget to provide free menstrual pads and tampons to low-income women and girls. Quote“I’m elated that recognition is going to be given to the kids that need it most. This is a gap that the state has graciously decided to fill.” - Representative Kim Schofield |
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South Carolina |
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North Carolina |
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Virginia |
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Virginia |
HB 83SummaryFeminine hygiene products; no cost to female prisoners or inmates. Directs the State Board of Corrections and the Director of the Department of Corrections to each adopt and implement a standard or procedure to ensure the provision of feminine hygiene products to female prisoners and inmates without charge. |
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New York |
S8821ASummaryEnsures access to feminine hygiene products for incarcerated women in correctional facilities across New York State, free of charge. |
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New York |
Section 267SummaryRequires schools in New York State to provide free menstrual products in restrooms for girls in grades 6 through 12. Such products shall be provided at no charge to students. |
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Maryland |
SB 427SummaryHB204 / SB427 Requires each public school to provide, at no charge, menstrual hygiene products via dispensers in women's restrooms at the schools; Requires the state to reimburse for the costs of purchasing and installing menstrual hygiene dispensers. Quote“So excited for the passage of this bill. It’s taken 3 years, but no longer will girls in Maryland schools have the indignity of having their menstrual cycle treated like an illness. Toiletries belong in bathrooms, like toilet paper and soap.” -Delegate Kirill Reznik |
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Maryland |
SB598SummaryCorrectional facilities must have a policy requiring menstrual hygiene products to be provided at no cost to a female inmate. Officials are also required to ensure a “sufficient supply” to “meet the needs of the inmate population at all times.” The definition in the law includes tampons and sanitary napkins. |
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Delaware |
HB 20SummaryThis bill requires all public and charter schools which have students in grades 6-12 to provide free feminine hygiene products in 50% of the bathrooms used by students who can have a menstrual cycle. This bill also requires schools to publish on its website and post in its common areas the locations of the bathrooms where the hygiene products are provided. Quote“Period products are not a luxury. They are essential items for our daily lives.” House Majority Leader Valerie Longhurst |
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Delaware |
SB 166SummaryThis Act requires that feminine hygiene products be provided free of charge to individuals in custody at facilities operated by the Department of Correction and facilities operated by the Department of Services for Children, Youth and Their Families. |
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New Jersey |
S1221/A1349SummaryA school district shall ensure that students in each school educating students in grades 6 through 12, or any combination thereof, have direct access to menstrual products in at least 50 percent of female and gender-neutral school bathrooms if applicable, free of charge. Effective Date: 2024 Quote"I am proud of the work we have accomplished and excited to continue raising awareness around period poverty." - Assemblywomen Shanique Speight |
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Connecticut |
SB 13SummaryDOC to provide inmates with feminine hygiene products free of cost, upon request. |
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Connecticut |
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Rhode Island |
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Maine |
LD 628SummaryPrisoners will have free access to menstrual products in Maine jails and prisons under a new law in the state. |
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New Hampshire |
SB 142SummaryMenstrual hygiene products are required in school restrooms, effective July 18, 2019. School districts shall make sanitary napkins and tampons available at no cost in bathrooms. Quote“Being an adolescent middle or high-schooler is hard enough without the fear and embarrassment of lacking proper care products during the school-day because you cannot afford them.” - Bill Co-Sponsor Rep. Polly Campion |
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New Hampshire |
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Vermont |
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Pennsylvania |
School Free Menstrual Products Grant ProgramSummaryPart of the 2024-20025 state budget, this program will provide free menstrual products to schools. More details to come. (page 11) Quote“The Shapiro Administration is committed to the health, wellness, and safety of students across the Commonwealth, and this investment will enable schools to help close a gap in women’s health care . . " - Casey Smith, State Department of Education spokesperson |
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New York |
S.5910-B/A.4060ASummaryRequires all public colleges and universities to provide free menstrual products in the restroom of such building or buildings free of charge. Quote"This legislation is a huge step forward in our fight to end period poverty, reduce financial stress and stigma often surrounding menstruation, and bring us closer to true equity and dignity for people who menstruate." - Senator Michelle Hinchey |
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California |
AB 1810SummaryThis bill requires an incarcerated person to have ready access to menstrual products without having to request them. This bill will impose a state-mandated local program. Quote“Access to menstrual products is not a luxury or a privilege, it is a necessity.” - Assemblymember Isaac Bryan |
Key Activity in States with Pending Bills
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State |
Summary of Activity |
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California |
SB59SummaryAn act to add Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 24300) to Division 20 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to menstrual products. |
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Oklahoma |
SB176SummaryRequires certain schools to make feminine hygiene products available in certain restrooms. |
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Texas |
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Iowa |
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Iowa |
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Missouri |
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Louisiana |
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Illinois |
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Kentucky |
SB55SummaryCreate a new section of KRS Chapter 158 to require each public school that includes any of grades four through 12 to provide free feminine hygiene products to female students; require each local board of education to adopt policies for the distribution of free feminine hygiene products; define feminine hygiene products. |
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Ohio |
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South Carolina |
H4784SummaryRequires public buildings owned by the state or any agency, office, department, division, commission, or institution thereof, including state and local correctional and prison facilities, to supply feminine hygiene products in each female public restroom. |
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South Carolina |
H 5230SummaryRequires every state correctional facility, local detention facility, jail, prison camp and work camp to provide feminine hygiene products at no charge. |
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South Carolina |
H 3302SummaryEvery public school shall maintain a supply of feminine hygiene products that students may use free of charge. |
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West Virginia |
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Pennsylvania |
HB 900SummaryA supply of feminine hygiene products shall be provided to all incarcerated individuals and detainees who are menstruating in a correctional institution each month at no cost to the incarcerated individuals and detainees, regardless of financial means. |
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New York |
A10270SummaryRequires that all female-designated bathrooms in the state of New York provide feminine hygiene products at no cost. |
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New York |
S5913SummaryAn Act to amend the public health law, in relation to providing menstrual products in non-public schools at no charge. |
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Massachusetts |
HB 561SummaryAll elementary and secondary public schools in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts serving students in any grade from grade six through grade twelve shall provide feminine hygiene products in the restrooms of such school building or buildings. Such products shall be provided at no charge to students. |
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Massachusetts |
I AM BILL |
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Massachusetts |
I AM BILL, H2354, S1445 |
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Maine |
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Pennsylvania |
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Pennsylvania |
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