RI state legislature passes bill making feminine hygiene products free for school students

Rhode Island’s House of Representatives passed a bill that will make feminine hygiene products free for school students, CBS News affiliate WPRI reported.

The state’s House of Representatives shared in a tweet on Tuesday that lawmakers have approved the bill that will make hygiene products accessible for students statewide.

@wpri12: RI lawmakers have approved legislation that would make feminine hygiene products accessible for students statewide. If signed into law, free tampons & pads must be made available in female & gender-neutral bathrooms throughout public schools grades 5-12.

— Rhode Island House of Representatives (@RIHouseofReps) June 29, 2021

“If signed into law, free tampons & pads must be made available in female & gender-neutral bathrooms throughout public schools grades 5-12,” the state House said in the tweet. 

State Rep. Carol Hagan McEntee (D), who is one of the bill’s sponsors, told the CBS affiliate that the proposed bill will help alleviate embarrassment for students.

@repmcentee33 sponsored the legislation in the House: “These products are not luxuries, they are necessities for many of our students. If soap and paper towels are available in bathrooms, so should feminine hygiene products, it’s as simple as that.”https://t.co/VNHNaYhuBm

— Rhode Island House of Representatives (@RIHouseofReps) June 29, 2021

“These products are not luxuries, they are necessities for many of our students. If soap and paper towels are available in bathrooms, so should feminine hygiene products, it’s as simple as that,” McEntee told WPRI. 

“These products are a daily necessity to so many students and just as schools provide toilet paper for the bathrooms,” state Sen. Valarie Lawson (D) told WPRI. “These products should also be readily accessible for our students in need.”

The proposed bill now sits on Gov. Dan McKee’s (D) desk, WPRI noted.