At the start of the 2022-2023 school year, the TUHSD district enforced a state legislative bill passed in October of 2021 called Assembly Bill 367. This bill requires all public schools with a 40 percent pupil poverty threshold to stock 50 percent of the campus bathrooms with free menstrual products. These products must be accessible in female restrooms, gender neutral restrooms and at least one men’s restroom. The district’s Maintenance and Operations department, took lead on implementing the initiative and the Redwood custodial staff is in charge of re-filling the dispensaries around campus.

Redwood senior, Alexis Perry, commends the development. 

“I love that they are free, it’s a really good support system so we don’t have to walk across campus to grab necessities, it is really convenient…Although I am slightly disappointed in Redwood for not implementing this earlier,” Perry said. 

Perry is referring to the cart outside the Wellness center which has provided access to tampons for years. Magdalena Maguire, Wellness Outreach Specialist, oversees and restocks the cart.

“Through the nurse and the district, we have been giving them [tampons and pads] out for free in our care-cart for years…We usually go through a box of 500 tampons every two weeks,” Maguire said. “I have noticed a lot less people coming in for tampons and pads [since getting the dispensers], at least I am having to restock it a lot less.”

It is clear that Redwood students have been taking advantage of the accessibility, but due to past vandalism in the bathrooms, sometimes resulting in the closure of bathrooms, concerns have sparked. Erin Parling, the district-wide Administrative Assistant for the Maintenance and Operation Department points out worries. 

“My concern is I was a student once, I know how pranks work and [tampons and pads] are being made free in the restrooms that aren’t supervised. I would hate to see those who actually need them not have access because someone thought it funny to pull a prank,” Parling said. 

While some may not take these materials seriously, others are seeing significant benefits. Having resources like these for free are enabling students to rely on the school more in a financial way. 

The Pink Tax, which is not a tax in the literal sense but refers to how products marketed towards women tend to be more expensive than those marketed towards men. According to an article done in 2019 by womenshealth.com, Menstruators spend at least $9379 in their lifetime on supplies. The price of a box of 18 tampons from Tampax can range from $7 to $12, depending on where it is purchased, and prices are only rising.

“All of the expenses that come with being in a body that menstruates is insane, so I am glad to see the district supporting people financially, not having to get those products on their own,” Maguire said. 

Another big aspect of this decision is recognizing that not everyone who menstruates identifies as a woman. Moving away from language such as female products or women’s hygiene is extremely important. Maguire, working with students on a daily basis, advocates for inclusionary language.

“A significant percentage of trans or gender non-binary students that go here, don’t want to use the gendered bathrooms, so saying women menstruate is not true in 2022,”  Maguire said.

Having such a large portion of people who menstruate at our school, it is refreshing to see that the district has made an accessible way to find these products, as they aren’t a want but a necessity for many. Now people who menstruate no longer have to take a 15 minute bathroom break hunting down a tampon.