Menstrual products such as pads and tampons will soon be made available for free in girls and gender-neutral washrooms at schools across the Sunshine Coast.
According to the proposed School District No. 46 regulation, the Board of Education “will ensure that menstrual products are available, free of cost, to all students who may require them, in a manner that is convenient, without stigma and barrier free.”
Coin-free dispensers would be installed in all student gender-neutral and girls washrooms at SD46 schools, with the district assuming the cost of “purchasing, installing and stocking the dispensers,” according to the regulation. Information would be made available to staff, students and parents, and feedback from students will be sought “to ensure that the manner in which menstrual products are made available addresses the needs of all students.”
Dispenser installation and the initial order of menstrual products are expected to cost between $20,000 and $25,000.
The regulation follows a ministerial order issued last April requiring all school districts to make menstrual products available for free in student washrooms by the end of 2019.
Education Minister Rob Fleming cited findings that one in seven students has missed school because they can’t afford menstrual products, according to a release issued with the announcement.
After the SD46 regulation was introduced at the Nov. 13 regular meeting of the board, trustee Amanda Amaral argued the proviso that products will be available in gender-neutral and girls washrooms contradicts the regulation’s statement that products should be accessed without barriers or stigma.
She said boys washrooms should be stocked with menstrual products, too.
“There may be students who identify as male and may want to use a male washroom and may still be menstruating, and in order to be stigma free I would like to see it amended to all the washrooms,” said Amaral.
Secretary-treasurer Nicholas Weswick, who helped develop the regulation, said consideration was given to providing the products in male washrooms, but they decided against it after consulting with the district’s Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI) representative and canvassing a number of districts throughout the Lower Mainland and province.
“The consensus, largely, in many districts is that if there are students who are identifying as male but who require these products, then they would likely use and feel more comfortable using a gender-neutral washroom where there would be menstrual products available,” Weswick said, adding that the majority of districts in the province are not installing dispensers in male washrooms.
In response, Amaral said, “I hope that if we hear student feedback that we are able to be responsive to that.”
Vice chair Stacia Leech suggested the District Student Leadership Team “alert their peers that they can comment online on this regulation, so that we can hear directly from them.”
The regulation will be circulated to stakeholders, including student groups, for feedback until Jan. 3, 2020.
