Exploring the legal landscape of free menstrual products in schools: A scan of 50 states and DC

Period poverty can act as a barrier to education for menstruating students. This study examines laws that support access to free menstrual products in public, private, and charter schools across grade levels within all 50 states and the District of Columbia (DC) to understand the legal landscape. Legal epidemiology methods were used to create a database of statutes and regulations, effective as of July 2024, that support access to free menstrual products in schools across all 50 states and DC (N = 51). Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the data. This review found that 29 of 51 jurisdictions (57 %) have laws that support access to free menstrual products in schools. Of those 29 jurisdictions, 24 (83 %) mandate free product availability and 17 (59 %) describe the financial mechanisms to provide products. Regarding menstrual product placement, twenty-two jurisdictions (76 %) describe at least one type of sanitation facility to provide products - thirteen (45 %) include women's restrooms, thirteen (45 %) include gender-neutral restrooms, and six (21 %) include men's restrooms, which can support privacy and accessibility for transgender and non-binary menstruators. Based on regional categorization as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau, these laws are found in 10 of the 17 jurisdictions in the South (59 %), 8 of 13 in the West (62 %), 6 of 9 in the Northeast (67 %), and 5 of 12 in the Midwest (42 %). Variations in legal features demonstrate opportunities for states and DC to establish or amend menstrual products in schools (MPIS) laws to address period poverty within their jurisdiction.