Oregon Schools add menstrual products to boy’s bathrooms after Governor’s decree

Schools in Oregon install menstrual product dispensing machines in BOYS’ restrooms after Governor signed law forcing them to provide free period products

  • The Menstrual Dignity Act passed into law in 2021, schools have until 2023 to comply
  • The Oregon Department of Education director the state wants schools ‘to understand how they can be supportive of all students’
  • One conservative group issued a statement reminding the public that taxpayers are now on the hook for tampon machines being installed in boys’ bathrooms 

Menstrual products will be made available in school bathrooms for boys after  Oregon Governor Kate Brown signed the controversial Menstrual Dignity Act into law. 

The new law will require elementary, middle and high schools to put menstrual products and instructions into all bathrooms on campus, regardless of gender.

The Menstrual Dignity Act passed in the Oregon legislature in 2021.    

A TikTok video in May 2022 showed a functioning tampon dispenser inside of a boys bathroom, showing that the process of installing the machines has already begun. 

Oregon is the first state to pass such a law. All bathrooms must be fitted with menstrual product machines by June 2023.

 According to the law: ‘All education providers shall install in every bathroom at least one dispenser that does not require coins or money’ and ‘is clearly marked as free in at least two languages.’

When asked about the act in an April 2022 interview with Oregon Public Broadcasting, Oregon Department of Education director Colt Gill said that the act was designed to help school districts ‘to understand how they can be supportive of all students’ and ‘what pronouns that they choose to use at school.’

Gill said that if a district is not in compliance with the new law, students are invited to contact the Oregon Department of Education. He added: ‘We are happy to come in and help the school district and the community understand the laws that are in place.’

After Gov. Brown signed the bill into law, the Family Research Council released a statement saying in part: ‘local taxpayers are on the hook for thousands of new tampon dispensers in boys bathrooms’

A statement from the state’s biggest school district, Portland Public Schools, addressed the new law saying that their schools would have menstrual products available in all bathrooms by the start of the 2022-23 school year. 

The Daily Mail reached out to both Portland Public Schools and the Oregon Department of Education for comment on this story but has yet to hear back.  

The release continued, ‘We encourage parents to have conversations with their students at home about menstruation, menstrual products, sexuality and health.’ 

It continues, ‘This program will be implemented best if we work in partnership to reduce shame and stigma around menstruation and help all students address basic physical needs in order to remove barriers to their overall education.’ 

At the time the law passed the legislature, the Oregon Department of Education released a statement citing a similar law in New York City that saw an increase of 2.4 percent in attendance following the implementation. 

A TikTok video showing a boys' bathroom with a tampon machine installed went viral as the bill was passed into law

A TikTok video showing a boys’ bathroom with a tampon machine installed went viral as the bill was passed into law

After the bill was signed into law, the Family Research Council released a statement which read in part, ‘Thanks to the Menstrual Dignity Act that just passed in Oregon, local taxpayers are now on the hook for thousands of new tampon dispensers in boys bathrooms.’

When a similar bill in was up for debate in the Illinois legislature, state Rep. Avery Bourne (R) said, ”When you give a grade-school boy something that’s adhesive, they’re going to put it in places. These products are not inexpensive, and they are going to be misused if they are placed in elementary school boys’ bathrooms.’

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