What is the point of a passed policy if no one implements it?
This past legislative session, more bills focused on expanding access to period products in schools were introduced and passed around the United States as compared to any other year.
Many people don’t realize that passing a bill is only 50% of the job: you also have to implement it. I realized this first hand as a New York City (NYC) student.
One day I asked to use the restroom in the middle of class. To my surprise, I was on my period. I couldn’t find any period products in the stall so I crafted a toilet paper pad as a temporary fix to check if there are any pads in the restroom. A basket of pads was in the restroom, but it was empty. No one was in the bathroom at this time, so I couldn’t ask any of my peers if they had a pad. This happened during my freshman year of high school and I didn’t know that only one of the bathrooms on the 6th floor provided pads. I wasn’t sure if I could ask the main office for pads either. Luckily, one of my friends saved the day and had a spare period product for me.
My experience is far too common. 25 states have not yet passed legislation to increase access to products in schools. If my friend hadn’t given me a product, I would’ve been one of the 25% students in the United States who has had to miss class due to a lack of access to period products.
The most frustrating part? New York has already passed legislation to solve this problem. A 2018 bill requires all elementary and secondary public schools to provide feminine hygiene products in the restrooms for students in grades 6 — 12. This past year, New York furthered that requirement and passed S.5913A — a bill which requires menstrual products to be provided to students for free in private middle and high school student restrooms as well.
I also recently learned about a teacher in Upstate New York who has similarly struggled with this issue as her students did not have access to free period products.
This made me realize that if students and teachers are recognizing this problem, why isn’t anyone doing anything to fix it? Passing a bill doesn’t always fix the problem. If we can’t rely on school administrations or state departments to ensure that students have access to products, we have to take action ourselves.
In response, I co-founded the New York City Menstrual Equity Coalition (NYCMEC) to ensure period products are actually accessible to students in schools.
What is the New York Menstrual Equity Coalition? (NYCMEC)
We are a coalition of advocates, parents, teachers, nurses of NYC students, and organizations that focus on furthering policy efforts to improve menstrual health in our state. This coalition also serves as a network and support system.
Using our collective expertise and experience, we are able to discuss the issues related to menstrual equity and craft a plan. We plan to virtually meet once a month to discuss our goals and our respective tasks. Although NYC was the first to pass legislation to mandate period products in schools, we realize that the bill hasn’t been as meaningful as possible because many students still don’t have access to products.
This is why one of our main efforts in the coalition is creating an implementation handbook that can support schools and districts with a layout of the existing policies in NYC, the best ways to implement them, a run through of the type of period products available, and additional information on menstrual equity standards.
I feel that my community is facing the same issue, what can I do about it?
The most important aspect of a coalition is the opportunity to connect advocates with each other. You’d be surprised how many other individuals recognize this issue but don’t know how to activate for change.
Step 1: Research if your local area or state has a coalition. If so, join them!
Step 2: If you don’t believe there is an active coalition in your state, start your own!
During the start of the NYCMEC, I reached out to another menstrual advocate in Alabama. When connecting with her, we decided to reach out to advocates in our own circle. She reached out to Period Law and PERIOD. to find more people to join this coalition. We started a coalition by gathering advocates and community members who are passionate about menstrual equity and/or have experienced the negative effects of period poverty and stigma.
Step 3: Identify Who Should Join the Coalition
Social media platforms, primarily Linkedin, has been a great resource to connect with more menstrual health and equity advocates. If one menstrual advocate sees your post and reposts it, you can then connect with their circle of influence. From there, you’ll be able to see how many people want to join and help.
Step 4: Find an easy platform for potential members to indicate interest — a Google Form is an always a great idea.
Ask questions about occupations (teacher, student, parent) and gather insight on their goals for this coalition to see who you’re connecting with and their unique perspective on period equity. It’s a great idea to ask the question: “What roles of affiliations do you have that will inform your role in the coalition?”
Understanding the different issues coalition members want to reform is important as it gives more perspective and insight on the different ways menstrual equity can be addressed. It also helps with creating tasks for the coalition. You can add a simple question like, “What are you hoping we can achieve together this next year?”
Step 5: Figure Out a Time and Place to Meet
I recommend planning meetings once or twice a month and strive to find a time where everyone’s schedules align. An important thing to remember: everyone in the coalition is volunteering. We found that it would be easiest for our members to meet once a month on Zoom, so that they could participate without feeling overwhelmed or burdened by the time commitment.
There may still be some individuals who won’t be able to make every meeting. However, it ’s important that everyone is invited to be involved. It’s a good idea to also send a recap email for all members that outlines the ideas discussed and ways they can stay involved.
Step 6: Define Your Vision
It is important to ensure that the mission and values for the coalition is discussed so that everyone feels excited and empowered with the shared goals. For example, our mission is to ensure policy implementation, grow policy awareness (ex. testifying on new pieces of legislation), and meet community needs.
Having these values figured out makes it easier to formulate tasks, as they will carry out shared goals based on the member’s ideas,
We can do so much more together than we can alone. As states around the country pass policies to ensure students have access to period products in school, we must also ensure that school districts and administrations have support and resources to effectively implement the policies.
If you’re a student who has dealt with missing class due to the lack of supplies in the bathrooms, this is your invitation to take action.
