Bill Text: WV SCR53 | 2020 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requesting study providing free feminine hygiene products to female students in grades six through 12
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-03-03 - To Rules [SCR53 Detail]
Download: West_Virginia-2020-SCR53-Introduced.html
SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 53
(By Senators Beach and Woelfel)
[Introduced February 27, 2020]
Requesting the Joint Committee on Government and Finance conduct a study regarding providing free feminine hygiene products to all female students in grades six through 12 in West Virginia public schools.
Whereas, Feminine hygiene products are not easily accessible to many female students and this causes one in five girls in the United States to miss school due to not having access to those products; and
Whereas, Although school nurses have a limited supply of feminine hygiene products, schools do not keep an adequate supply for female students every time they need them; and
Whereas, Feminine hygiene products are, for some students, too expensive, creating a hardship for some female students’ families to afford to get them for their children; and
Whereas, In the United States, health care insurance plans do not cover feminine hygiene products; and
Whereas, Adolescents growing up can be self-conscious, so female students go to great efforts to avoid personal embarrassment by taking all of their belongings to the restroom in order to not show other students their tampon or sanitary napkin; and
Whereas, For young teenage girls, it can be challenging adjusting to puberty, and menstruation is uniquely challenging, and school’s daily routines can be difficult for younger females to manage as they adjust to this new routine; and
Whereas, Female students are forced to ask their teachers or counselors for permission to go to the nurse’s office in order to see if they can get a tampon or sanitary napkin, which causes students to feel disinclined to get them; and
Whereas, Many West Virginia public school teachers feel obligated to spend their own money to keep a supply of feminine hygiene products in their classrooms for female students who may find themselves unprepared, in order to save their female students from embarrassing situations; and
Whereas, The provision of general hygiene products that all students use such as toilet paper, soap, and paper towels reflect that public schools realize that while students are at school it is the school’s responsibility to provide them certain assistance; and
Whereas, Grades six through 12 are a crucial time in shaping a child’s life, and female students should not have to be anxious about another student knowing they need feminine hygiene products, as it is a very normal monthly occurrence. The benefits to providing female students availability and use of these products is worthy of study; therefore, be it
Resolved by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Joint Committee on Government and Finance is hereby requested to conduct a study regarding providing free feminine hygiene products in grades six through 12; and, be it
Further Resolved, That the Joint Subcommittee on Government and Finance enlist the Department of Education in conducting the study; and, be it
Further Resolved, That the Joint Committee on Government and Finance and report to the regular session of the Legislature, 2021, on its findings, conclusions, and recommendations, together with drafts of any legislation necessary to effectuate its recommendations; and, be it
Further Resolved, That the expenses necessary to conduct this study, to prepare a report, and to draft necessary legislation be paid from legislative appropriations to the Joint Committee on Government and Finance.
