Newsom signs bill requiring California public schools to provide menstrual products

Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) on Friday signed a bill requiring California public schools to provide free menstrual products.

The bill says all public high schools and colleges have to provide menstrual products to students in their restrooms starting in the 2022 school year, KTLA 5 reported. 

The bill expands on a law put into place in 2017 that required free menstrual products be provided in low-income schools. 

“Our biology doesn’t always send an advanced warning when we’re about to start menstruating, which often means we need to stop whatever we’re doing and deal with a period,” Democratic Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia, who sponsored the bill, said, according to the local outlet. 

“Just as toilet paper and paper towels are provided in virtually every public bathroom, so should menstrual products,” she added.

The move follows multiple other states that have put laws into place to have schools give out free menstrual products. 

Washington state made the move to provide free menstrual products in school bathrooms in May.

“This bill will help students maintain a safe and healthy standard of personal hygiene while at school, which is particularly important for students who struggle to afford the cost of paying for these products,” Gov. Jay Inslee (D) said at the time.

A growing movement has been happening in the U.S. for affordable or free menstrual products.