The $3 million grant program will allow eligible schools to offer free period products to students starting as early as this fall.
It was a win for female students throughout Pennsylvania when it was revealed that this year’s state fiscal budget would include money to provide period products at no cost in schools.
What: A $3 million grant program in the 2024-25 fiscal year budget will provide free period products in Pennsylvania’s public schools.
Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro approved the program as part of this year’s $47.6 billion state budget. It puts the state Department of Health, in consultation with the Department of Education, in charge of awarding grants to school districts and charter schools. Details on how schools can apply for the money and which districts will be eligible still need to be worked out.
Casey Smith, a spokesperson for the state Department of Education, said the agencies will “establish guidelines to drive out funding to schools in the coming weeks.”
Why: Period poverty—not being able to afford period products—impacts 500 million women across the country. According to the 2021 report State of the Period, nearly 23% of US students who menstruate have struggled to afford period products.
Lower-income and rural students, along with students of color, are especially affected. Almost half of Black and Latino students feel they are not able to do their best schoolwork because of a lack of access to period products, compared to 28% of white students in the US.
More than 1,500 schools in Pennsylvania told the Department of Education that at least 50% of their students came from low-income households during the most recent year.
