State lawmakers are weighing two measures that aim to require the Hawaii Department of Education to provide students at all public school campuses with free menstrual products.

Sen. Laura Acasio (D, Hilo) who introduced Senate Bill 2456, said, “This measure is extremely important in many ways, allowing folks who menstruate to have access to health and hygiene products — it’s just as vital as anything else, like toilet paper and hand soap.”

Further, Acasio said, “We find that a lot of students who miss school, and miss that education … it’s very clear that it’s based on poverty so (we’re) trying to equalize that playing field.”

The bill cites a national study that found 1 in 5 low- income women report missing work, school and outings because of a lack of menstrual products. Additionally, half of respondents to a statewide survey on menstruation in Hawaii reported missing school or work because of their menstruation.

The push for state legislation was initiated about three years ago when Ilima Intermediate School teacher Sarah Milianta-Laffin and a few students began talking to legislators about drafting a bill. So far, five states have laws requiring public schools to provide menstrual products to students.

“I had always been that teacher who handed out pads and tampons, but I didn’t really look at it through an equity lens,” Milianta-Laffin said. “I was like, ‘What positive thing can we do?’”

Meanwhile, Nikki-Ann Yee, the co-founder of Ma‘i Movement Hawaii, a nonprofit that advocates for menstrual equity, said, “We started hearing from the community about parents that were struggling with rising rent costs and making decisions, do they buy (period) products for themselves and their children? Or do they put food on the table?”

Ma‘i Movement Hawaii conducted a one-year pilot program providing menstrual products to six public schools across the state and found that eight out of 10 students faced difficulties in getting the hygiene products. The program also found that embarrassment tied to menstruation was also a major barrier for students who needed period products.

Riezel-Nicole Escoto, an eighth grader at Ilima Intermediate who is working with Milianta-Laffin as a student leader, hopes that either SB 2546 or SB 2821, which include similar provisions, can help eliminate any sense of stigma around menstruation.

“From where I come from my … family in the Philippines, they are poor, like they can’t really afford many things and we usually have to provide for them … we can’t really buy much,” she said. “I understand why people can’t afford many things like period products … I resonated with that.”

The pilot program found that when students were provided with menstrual products, reported embarrassment decreased by 17%. Through the program, it estimated that it would cost about $4 to $5 per student to provide period products, and that 40% of students used the resource.

In written testimony for SB 2821, the Education Department noted that with about 45,800 students identified as female enrolled in grades 5-12 in Hawaii public non-charter schools, it would cost upward of $960,000 to provide each with a total of 150 products during a 10-month school year.

That bill, introduced by Sen. Michelle Kidani (D, Mililani-Waikele-Kunia), who serves as chair of the Education Committee, includes a proposed allocation of $1 million. The measure, which has passed second reading in the Senate, will need to be heard again by the full Senate before moving on to the House of Representatives.

The reason that the measure would include all public schools — not only secondary school — is because children can get their periods as early as age 8 or 9, said Yee. In the survey that Ma‘i Movement Hawaii conducted, 30% of respondents said their menstruation started while in elementary school.

Last month, Senate President Ron Kouchi expressed support for the issue of “period poverty” during his speech on opening day of this year’s regular legislative session. “It breaks my heart to read that they’re using leaves, newspaper and other materials,” Kouchi said, adding, “This is something that is important to me.”

During a virtual town hall on the matter Tuesday, Kouchi said he did not want the efforts to address the problem to end at the schools, and that he intends to seek funding assistance from sources such as the Hawaii Community Foundation.

“The issue goes beyond economically disadvantaged students,” Kouchi said. “There are young women who need to get into the workplace, who need to go through their daily lives that are going to need our help.”