Free menstrual products to be provided at all Hawaii public schools

When Hawaii’s next public school year begins for students Aug. 1, a new law will require administrators to provide free menstrual products on campuses statewide.

Gov. David Ige signed a bill Monday to deliver “menstrual equity” in schools that advocates said will reduce student absences and other harmful consequences for many children whose families can’t afford feminine hygiene products.

“Period poverty is a real issue for young people and can impact their education in substantial ways,” Ige said at a ceremony for signing Senate Bill 2821 at Washington Place, the governor’s residence. “No student should have their educational journey hampered because of lack of access to menstrual products.”

The new law takes effect July 1 and is to be funded by a $2 million appropriation in the state budget that covers all state Department of Education and public charter schools in Hawaii.

According to the state Senate, Hawaii joins five other states with a similar requirement.

Supporters of the bill made strong impressions on state lawmakers this year after a similar bill failed at the Legislature last year.

Nikki-Ann Yee, co-founder of the nonprofit Ma‘i Movement Hawaii, which played a driving role in the initiative, noted that supporters didn’t give up after the failed bill and an initial demonstration project last year at Ilima Intermediate School in Ewa Beach.

“Instead of getting mad, we got data,” she said at Monday’s ceremony.

Ma‘i Movement and the Hawaii State Commission on the Status of Women produced a study last year in which 30% of respondents said they or someone in their household experienced difficulty obtaining period products mostly because of cost, and that students resorted to using newspapers, old rags, diapers and leaves when they did not have access to menstrual products.

The nonprofit led by Yee and her two sisters, Brandy-­Lee Yee and Jamie-Lee Kapana, also expanded with a one-year pilot program providing menstrual products at six Hawaii public schools and finding that eight out of 10 students faced difficulties in getting menstrual products. Another finding during the project was that embarrassment was a big barrier for students to obtain period products.

Sarah Kern, a science teacher at Kamakahelei Middle School on Kauai that participated in the program, knew firsthand of the need by some students for period products because she had been sharing products she purchased since she began teaching in 2013.

“I’m really thrilled today that we’re making progress,” Kern said at Monday’s ceremony, adding that students will be in class and in school more because of the new law.

Joe Passantino, principal of Princess Ruth Ke‘elikolani Middle School in downtown Honolulu, said that participating in the pilot project helped academics at the school serving a poor community that includes the Mayor Wright Homes public housing project.

“Meeting Nikki and working with her sisters has been transformational for our school,” he said at the ceremony. “Because when students miss school, and I would say that they miss school a lot because of this, it impacts their educational opportunities.”

Passantino noted that student proficiency scores in English at the school formerly known as Central Middle School rose to 35% from 20% after the pilot project.

Sen. Michelle Kidani (D, Mililani-Waikele-Kunia) was the lead introducer of SB 2821, which had 19 other co-introducers and sponsors. Senate President Ron Kouchi called attention to the subject of the bill during a speech on the opening day of this year’s legislative session in January, and SB 2821 received overwhelming support at committee hearings where 109 to 266 pages of written testimony was received.

Ige said Monday’s ceremony, which was produced in part by students who helped champion the cause, was one of the biggest bill signing events so far this year.

“It’s definitely something that attracted a lot of attention,” he said. “Many many in our community felt that it was very very important.”