Students, educators, state agencies and more submit testimony backing proposal
Posted: February 18, 2022
The Senate Ways and Means (WAM) Committee Friday approved a measure to provide free menstrual products to public school students.
If the bill becomes law, Hawaii would become the sixth state in the country with this provision.
Lawmakers tasked with overseeing the state’s finances received nearly 200 pages of written testimony in support of Senate Bill 2821 SD1 relating to menstrual equity. No oral testimony was accepted Friday.
Ilima Intermediate 8th-grader Kaitlyn Allen wrote, “When I’m bleeding through my pants, do you think I’m paying attention? No, I’m thinking about how I’m going to get to the next class without being judged for having my period.
Allen advised lawmakers, “You should require schools to give out period products because it messes with our education and it messes with our health.”
Cheryl Burghardt, a retired elementary school teacher, said the measure supports both students and educators.
“One of the parts of this menstrual issue that is often neglected is the impact it has on educators and students due to the daily schedule. As an elementary teacher, it is hard to get to the restroom with students in class, breaks are few and far between. Like students, teachers sometimes have to resort to measures that are not always the best,” Burghardt wrote.
“Why is this bill important? It takes the first steps to building a safer, equitable place within our public schools,” she wrote. “It provides a chance for people to learn that menstruation is a bodily function just like others. This bill helps us provide place-based solutions and understandings on menstruation and dismiss the stigma attached to it.”
SB2821 SD1 now heads to the full Senate for a vote. If passed, it will cross over to the House for hearings.