Should public schools supply tampons? It could soon become a reality

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - It can be a young girl’s worst nightmare having their first period while at school among classmates and not having the products they need. It is why one state lawmaker wants to make that problem a thing of the past.

Because it’s so common for teen girls to get their period while at school, Democratic State Representative Aimee Freeman wants to make products like tampons and sanitary wipes free and easily available in public schools.

“We know that there are kids that miss school because they don’t have them at home and 23% of our students are in a position where they need these products and they don’t have them and they’re embarrassed to come to school,” said Rep. Freeman.

According to the Louisiana Coalition for Reproductive Freedom, on average females spend $7 - $10 a month on these products. Which may seem like peanuts to some while possibly breaking the wallets of others.

The Democrat from New Orleans wants to lift that burden for families.

“I think it’s really important, and it’s not that hard. We provide toilet paper for the kids at school, and this is a necessity they can’t come to school without it. They really do menstruate once a month and so they need to have the products,” Rep. Freeman explained.

According to Freeman, none of this would be paid for by your tax dollars.

“We’re just trying to pass policy to say you need to provide them and then the schools are gonna have to figure out their budgets around it. Just like they figure out their budgets based on other supplies they have in school as well,” Freeman added.

The same lawmaker passed what she called the “Pink Tax” to do away with sales tax on these products and said this bill is the next step.

“I smile a little bit because some of my male colleagues on the floor say I thought we were done with the tampon discussions and I’m like well we’re not really done because the students have now asked me to try to help them inside the school system,” Freeman continued.

Republican members of the Women’s Caucus are also jumping on board. Senate President pro-tem Republican Beth Mizell has offered to co-author the bill. We tried getting in touch with her for comment today but were unable to reach her.

In similar news, the EBRPSS said they are doing a “Supporting Our Girls campaign” and are planning on getting with community partners to collect feminine products for students in need.

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