School policy, student access, and taxpayer funding are at the center of a Minnesota bill now drawing interest in Shoreview.
The bill’s language requires access in student restrooms and does not restrict the mandate to girls’ bathrooms.
Rep. Dean Urdahl proposed specifying that the products be placed in restrooms used by female students, calling the change practical and focused on those most likely to use them. The DFL-controlled committee rejected his amendment.
Bill sponsor Rep. Sandra Feist opposed that limitation. She said schools are increasingly using gender-neutral bathrooms and stated that “not all students who menstruate are female.” Feist also said the anticipated usage by non-female students had been included in the cost estimate.
Feist said the proposal would be financed through a $2-per-pupil increase in each district’s operating-capital revenue. She argued that absenteeism caused by lack of access costs more than providing the products.
For Shoreview, the central questions are whether the statewide mandate is appropriately designed, whether its cost estimate is realistic, and how local schools would implement it.
Article Source: Alpha News: “DFL legislators want menstrual products in boys’ bathrooms”
