Del. lawmakers aiming to provide free feminine hygiene products to more students

DELAWARE – Some Delaware lawmakers are hoping to expand on House Bill 20, which was passed in 2020. The bill provides free feminine hygiene products in schools with sixth through twelfth grade students. “With that bill, we were trying to reach the most children possible, and we knew that in middle schools and high schools, we were pretty much serving the population of menstruating individuals,” said State Senator Kyle Evans Gay.

Now, Senate Bill 205 has been introduced to expand that requirement down to schools with fourth and fifth graders, too. Sen. Gay says after HB 20 was passed, lawmakers received positive feedback from educators and parents across the state.

But, Sen. Gay says they also heard that there were still some students who were even younger that also needed the free products. “When we have our fourth and fifth graders, we want them to feel empowered, we want them to feel safe, and we want them to realize that this is a completely normal process. When you see the products there, and when you see that they’re available, that really just reinforces that,” she said.

The bill also carries forth language from HB 20, that requires the products to be provided in at least half of a given school’s bathrooms. That includes gender neutral bathrooms. “We should be providing the products to children who menstruate. We want to make sure that we are affirming everyone’s unique and individual self. We don’t wan to create additional barriers for certain children, that others wouldn’t face,” said Sen. Gay.

Sen. Gay says she’s hoping to see the mission of providing the much-needed products to students carried to Governor John Carney’s desk. “I never like to jinx it, but I am extremely confident that my colleagues believe in this bill, that they believe in the value statement behind it, and it’s something that we should do for our kids,” she said.