At the end of May, Gov. Tim Walz signed into law an education finance bill which includes requirements for schools to provide menstrual products at no charge starting in January 2024.

The bill’s language states that “the products must be available to all menstruating students” in grades four through 12. Each school district must develop a plan to stock pads and tampons in bathrooms “regularly used” by female and male students.

The discussion has been in the Legislature since January, with Republicans aiming to change the language of the bill to require menstrual products for female students only. But the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Sandra Feist, DFL-New Brighton, urged legislators to reject such amendments.

“Not all students who menstruate are female,” Feist said. “We need to make sure all students have access to these products.”

According to Feist, non-female menstruators “face a greater stigma and barrier to asking for these products.”

-https://alphanews.org/walz-signs-bill-requiring-schools-to-stock-period-products-in-boys-bathrooms/