CCSD is your period partner.

Under the CCSD Period Partner Project, 100% of CCSD schools now have free menstrual pads supplied in female and gender-neutral bathrooms.

This is crucial for students facing period poverty. According to the National Association for Women, period poverty affects, “one in  four students who will inevitably feel higher rates of stress and depression and lowered academic performance.”  

“In the United States, a quarter of menstruators have struggled to afford purchasing menstrual products or were not able to purchase them at all,” CCSD Student Wellness Specialist Meena Sheehan said. 

This development would not have been financially feasible without state aid.

“We are receiving approximately $20,000 per year for 3-5 years from the Colorado Department of Education, and approximately $10,000 per year from Medicaid funding,” Sheehan said. “Some additional funding is provided by our Title IV Student Wellness grant.”

 The CCSD Period Partner Project was also uplifted by student advocates. 

Grandview seniors Sofia Hassan, Sam Blair, and Hannah Dienhart were unsatisfied with the lack of period products inside of tampon machines in female and gender neutral bathrooms. At the end of last school year, they presented the idea of stocking bathrooms with period products from Aunt Flow, a non profit organization. 

Their efforts have helped to open up the conversation about period poverty within CCSD.

“[The Period Project is] reducing stigma and providing dignity to student menstruators so that all of our students can thrive in school and life,” Sheehan said. 

She added that reliable access to menstrual products will hopefully result in less anxiety and less absenteeism in students facing period poverty.

Free menstrual products in schools are a fairly recent development across Colorado.

“In Colorado, legislation passed in 2021 to create a grant program where eligible schools can stock tampons and pads free of charge,” Sheehan said.

This is one of many developments nationwide to decrease period poverty. 

Many states, including Alabama, California, Delaware, New York, Hawaii, Illinois, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Virginia, Washington, Oregon and Utah, have passed legislation requiring schools to provide free menstrual products to students.

When a student voice is heard, transformative change can occur. The necessity of free menstrual products has become incredibly evident.

“It’s kind of like if you didn’t have toilet paper and you had to ask someone for toilet paper,” Blair said.