A box of tampons and menstrual pads in the Pembroke Public Library men’s bathroom
Should boys’ bathrooms in Massachusetts public schools offer free tampons?
That may happen under a proposal on Beacon Hill.
A bill filed by state Representative Jeffrey Roy (D-Franklin) last week called “An Act Concerning Disposable Menstrual Products in Schools” (HD.80) would require local school districts to provide such products free of charge in restrooms at schools that serve grades 6 through 12.
Although some may assume the bill means girls’ bathrooms, that distinction is never made in the bill.
Here is the exact wording of the bill:
Section 1. Chapter 71 of the Massachusetts General Laws is hereby amended by adding at the end thereof the following section 68A:–
Section 2. For purposes of this section, “disposable menstrual products” means products including, but not limited to, tampons and sanitary napkins for use in connection with the menstrual cycle.
Section 3. All elementary and secondary public schools in the Commonwealth serving students in any grade from grade six through grade twelve shall provide disposable menstrual products in the restrooms of such school building or buildings. Such products shall be provided at no charge to students. Such amount may be adjusted from time to time based on utilization. School districts shall work to ensure that such products shall be available in a convenient manner that does not stigmatize any student seeking such product.
Section 4. This act shall take effect on August 1, 2022.
When NewBostonPost asked Roy in July 2021 if the bill would result in menstrual products being put into boys’ bathrooms to accommodate transgender boys — biologically female people who identify as male — he didn’t deny that it may happen.
When NewBostonPost asked Roy for a second time (again, by email) if the bill would result in menstrual products in boys’ restrooms since the language of the bill never specifies which bathrooms the products would be available in, he said that would be a decision for individual school districts to make.
“The bill only directs that school districts provide disposable menstrual products in the restrooms and that ‘such amount may be adjusted from time to time based on utilization,’ ” Roy said in the email message. “It further provides that: ‘School districts shall work to ensure that such products shall be available in a convenient manner that does not stigmatize any student seeking such product.’ ”
The first time NewBostonPost inquired on the matter, Roy responded by sending an opinion piece from Commonwealth Magazine which he co-authored with two others explaining why they support the bill.
It notes the problems girls and women face due to a lack of access to menstrual products, including a study that found that one-in-five female students have missed school as a result of not being able to afford tampons. It also said that most female students in Massachusetts don’t feel as though they have access to free menstrual products at school.
“No student should be worrying about where their next tampon will come from when they are trying to take notes in history class,” the op-ed from June 2021 says. “And for those who suggest that menstruators bring their own products to school, I wonder how many of you carry toilet paper, soap, and paper towels in your pockets.”
(The term “menstruators” refers to females, including those who identify as a gender not commonly associated with females.)
The new bill is a re-file. Last session, a similar bill garnered 26 co-sponsors; 25 of them were Democrats and the other was an independent who caucuses with the Democrats. Last session, the bill was referred to Massachusetts House Committee on Bills. The bill made it to a Third Reading, but no further action was taken on it.
No action has yet been taken on the bill in the new legislative session that began last week.
If the bill were to become law, public schools in Massachusetts would not be the only places offering menstrual products in bathrooms designed for males.
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A box of tampons and menstrual pads in the Pembroke Public Library men’s bathroom 
