This legislation was introduced in Illinois because legislators recognized and hoped to
eliminate yet another barrier to equal learning opportunities for low-income women. Due to the
previously mentioned concerns, Illinois legislators acknowledged that feminine hygiene products
are a health care necessity and cannot be avoided or safely substituted. In addition, Illinois
legislators were particularly compelled to introduce such legislation due to the staggering statistics,
which indicate that in 2015, over 41% of children in Illinois were considered low-income. Such a
statistic is further exacerbated when analyzing specific cities, such as Chicago.
California is currently the only other state besides Illinois to require schools to provide free
feminine hygiene products to students. Other states are experimenting with similar programs. For
example, in New York, a pilot program was launched at the High School for Arts and Business
located in New York City. The school reported a 2.4% increase in attendance after having installed
free feminine hygiene product dispensers. After what was deemed a large success in the High
School for Arts and Business pilot program, the New York City Department of Education
announced that twenty-five schools located in the Queens and the Bronx would be receiving the
same dispensers that would distribute free feminine hygiene products.
Although there is lack of data for this type of legislation in the United States, there have
been more extensive studies done in heavily impoverished countries. For instance, an Oxford
University professor named Paul Montgomery conducted a study in Uganda involving more than
1, 100 girls ages 10 to 13 from eight different schools. The girls were broken up into four groups;
the first group received free pads, the second group was educated on menstrual health, the third
group received both pads and education, and the fourth group was a control group. Over the course
of the roughly two-year study, the attendance of the control group that received no menstrual
products or education decreased by almost 20%, while the groups that received intervention each
only dropped about 1%. This study indicates that access to free feminine hygiene products and
education has a drastic impact on school attendance.
V. CONCLUSION
In sum, this new legislation will provide lasting change to Illinois public schools as young
female students will no longer have to skip or miss school in fear that they may embarrass
themselves by soiling their clothing in front of their classmates. Students will no longer have to
announce to the class that they must go to the nurse’s office. These young women will no longer
have to miss class to go find feminine hygiene supplies. Furthermore, these women will no longer
have to spend their money on a product that is necessary to their daily life, and can instead spend
that money on food or clothing. Now that these products will be provided at school, families can
save limited funds and obtain products from the school. Lastly, students will not have to put
themselves in dangerous hygiene positions in order to ensure lasting protection and prevent
embarrassment.
