{"id":27203,"date":"2024-06-12T22:12:07","date_gmt":"2024-06-13T04:12:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/colorado-guarantees-free-access-to-period-products-for-middle-and-high-school-students\/"},"modified":"2026-03-30T23:53:58","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T05:53:58","slug":"colorado-guarantees-free-access-to-period-products-for-middle-and-high-school-students","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/colorado-guarantees-free-access-to-period-products-for-middle-and-high-school-students\/","title":{"rendered":"Colorado guarantees free access to period products for middle and high school students"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"The
The bill was passed and is expected to go fully into effect by 2028. (Justice Necessary\/Courtesy Photo)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Colorado is the 20th state to provide free period products<\/div>\n

Gov. Jared Polis on June 5 signed House Bill 1164, which will require Colorado schools to provide free period products to female middle and high school students by 2028.<\/p>\n

The measure, which is known as the \u201cFree Menstrual Products to Students\u201d bill, was sponsored by Rep. Brianna Titone, Rep. Jenny Wilford, Sen. Janet Buckner, Sen. Faith Winter and coalition lead, founder and president of Justice Necessary, Diana Cushman Neal.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis bill creates more access to women\u2019s health products and I am proud that the state is stepping up to ensure all students can succeed and thrive in the classroom without worrying about paying for the care products they need,\u201d Polis said.<\/p>\n

Though the bill won\u2019t fully require schools to provide free products until 2028, the bill requires the general assembly to designate an additional $100,000 to the Menstrual Hygiene Products Grant program for the 2024-2025 fiscal year.<\/p>\n

\"Diane
Diane Cushman Neal, founder and president of Justice Necessary. (Justice Necessary\/Courtesy photo)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

School districts that are eligible can apply for grant funding that will assist in the cost of feminine hygiene products and\/or dispensers. The bill was also created to ensure that all rural schools in Colorado are eligible to apply for the appropriated grant funding.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy signing this bill today, Gov. Polis is ensuring every student across the state can go to school without\u00a0worrying about when your period might arrive, or if you have the products you need to manage it,\u201d Cushman Neal said. \u201cI am proud to live in a state that ensures students can attend class without\u00a0the worry of having the necessary products to manage their periods, because access to period products,\u00a0just is necessary.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to information from the Colorado Teen Period Poverty Study 2024 provided by Justice Necessary, 90% of teens in Colorado start their period unexpectedly in public without proper period products. Out of that percentage, 59% said they struggle to afford or access period products, \u201cunjustly impacting the education of students who experience a period.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some of the bill sponsors also weighed in on the importance of the bill\u2019s passage.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe’ve taken a significant step forward today by ensuring that our schools are places of equity and dignity,\u201d Willford said. \u201cProviding period products in middle and high school restrooms is more than a matter of convenience. It’s a fundamental issue for ensuring that every student has what they need to succeed. This legislation marks a commitment to removing barriers and upholding the rights of all our students to a disruption-free education.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis act ensures that any student, regardless of income, has access to the menstrual health products they need to be successful in school. It’s our responsibility to remove any barriers in education that stand in the way of this fundamental right, empowering every student to reach their fullest potential,\u201d Buckner said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAccess to education is not just a basic right; it’s the very foundation upon which we build a brighter future for all,\u201d Titone said. \u201cBy ensuring every child can step into a classroom, we are opening doors to limitless possibilities and enabling dreams that will one day shape our world.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTo dismantle barriers in education is to build bridges to success for future generations. We are committed to ensuring that no child’s potential is limited by circumstances beyond their control, ensuring a brighter, more inclusive future for everyone,\u201d Winter said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

bill was passed and is expected to go fully into effect by 2028. (Justice Necessary\/Courtesy Photo) Colorado is the 20th state to provide free period products Gov. Jared Polis on June 5 signed House Bill 1164, which will require Colorado schools to provide free period products to female middle and high school students by […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":27204,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[120,819,28,29],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-27203","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-colorado","tag-gov-jared-polis","tag-headlines","tag-newsletter"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27203","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27203"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27203\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":79981,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27203\/revisions\/79981"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27204"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27203"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27203"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27203"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=27203"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}