Menstrual Dignity for Students Toolkit

1 Menstrual Dignity for Students Toolkit November 2021 Mens trual Dignity for Students Toolkit For information about the Menstrual Dignity for Students Program please visit the Oregon Department of Education website or email ode. mens Page 2 of 26 Nove mbe r 2021 Table of Contents I. I ntroduction: Menstrual Dignity for Students Thank you to Toolkit Contributors Four Pillars of Menstrual Dignity II. Temporary Oregon Administrative Rules III. Program Requirements Dispensers Menstrual Products Trash Receptacles District Spotlight: Falls City School District IV. Education Menstrual Product Instructions Menstrual Health Education in the Classroom V. Staff engagement & Training Key Messages for Staff Resources for Staff Training VI.

2 Student & Youth engagement Student-Facing Resources VII. Family & community engagement Sample Family & community Letter Tips for Menstruation-Positive Language for Families VIII. Funding & Reimbursement Processes, Documents, and Forms IX. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) Mens trual Dignity for Students Toolkit For information about the Menstrual Dignity for Students Program please visit the Oregon Department of Education website or email ode. mens Page 3 of 26 Nove mbe r 2021 I. Introduction: Menstrual Dignity for Students The Menstrual Dignity Act (HB 3294, 2021) created the requirement for school districts to provide free Menstrual products for all menstruating Students in public schools in Oregon, including elementary, middle, and high school Students .

3 This legislation created the Menstrual Dignity for Students Program in order to address an unmet need identified by Students , school leaders, and medical and public health professionals over many years. The program helps Students participate actively in classes and school activities by alleviating some of the economic strain and experiences of shame that are often barriers for menstruating Students accessing their education. Menstrual equity initiatives, such as the Menstrual Dignity Act, align with the Oregon Department of Education s s tudent health and educational jus tice efforts . Res earch s hows that one in four teens have missed class due to a lack of access to mens trual products . Similarly, one in five s tudents has s truggled to afford mens trual products.

4 This dis proportionately impacts s tudents of color, s tudents experiencing dis abilities , and s tudents experiencing poverty. Importantly, this law affirms the right to mens trual Dignity for trans gender, inters ex, non-binary, and two s pirit s tudents by addres s ing the challenges that s ome s tudents have managing mens truation while minimizing negative attention that could put them at risk of harm and navigating experiences of gender dys phoria during mens truation. Res earch als o connects gender-affirming bathroom acces s to s upporting s tudent s afety at s chool. This program offers an antidote to the common narratives that say menstruation is something des erving of embarras s ment and s hame. Menstruation is simply a biological process for people who ovulate, though negative cultural mes s aging often leads young people to believe otherwis e.

5 According to a recent s urvey, 80% of teens feel there is a negative association with mens truation, that they are gros s or uns anitary. Thes e attitudes , combined with a lack of unders tanding around mens trual health and a lack of acces s to mens trual products can res ult in experiences that can impact a s tudent s mental and physical health as well as student attendance. Mens trual Dignity for Students Toolkit For information about the Menstrual Dignity for Students Program please visit the Oregon Department of Education website or email ode. mens Page 4 of 26 Nove mbe r 2021 Many s tudents who tes tified before the Oregon Hous e Committee on Education des cribed how thes e experiences had led to negative and long-lasting impacts on their academic success and experiences at school: It was my first PSAT We were instructed to leave all our belongings at I did not know I was going to be on my period that I bled through my pants and all over the seat in an unfamiliar [with] a male teacher I had never even seen before.

6 Luckily, he let me go to the bathroom, where I was reminded that we do not have tampons or pad I roamed the empty while blood dripped down my legs and onto the floor. I asked probably 10 random girls until I was able to find someone with a I couldn t help but think about how much my PSAT scores would be affected by my absence, and how much easier the situation would have been if I could have taken care of my business right there in the bathroom. This wasn t the first time either. -Oregon High School Student This Toolkit outlines requirements and recommendations for program implementation that hold s tudent equity and mens trual Dignity at the center s o that all s tudents have the opportunity for safe, dignified self-care. It was developed in partners hip with Toolkit contributors lis ted below.

7 Thank you to all of our Toolkit Contributors This Toolkit was created in partners hip with the ODE Mens trual Dignity Advis ory Group, the Office of Representative Ricki Ruiz, the ODE Sexuality Education Steering Committee, the ODE Office of Indian Education, the OHA Adoles cent and School Health Program, and all the s tudents and community members who tes tified in s upport of this bill during legis lative s es sion. ODE will update the Toolkit with more resources as they are created. If you need additional s upport, pleas e reach out to trual- Dignity @s Mens trual Dignity for Students Toolkit For information about the Menstrual Dignity for Students Program please visit the Oregon Department of Education website or email ode. mens Page 5 of 26 Nove mbe r 2021 Centering Student Equity and Access: Four Pillars of Menstrual Dignity In line with this legislation and legislative intent, the following four pillars of Menstrual Dignity guide and inform this Toolkit and work.

8 Privacy Space Autonomy Personal safety Inclusivity Cultural res pons ivenes s Gender affirming Access For s tudents of all abilities For multilingual access Options & choice Education Menstrual health Us e of mens trual products Positive, not fear- or s ha me- bas ed Privacy includes having s afe, private s paces where s tudents can acces s mens trual products , ins tructions for how to us e them, and tras h receptacles for private dis pos al. This means s tudents s elf-determine when they need to acces s products , what products they choos e, where they are s afe to us e them, and how to take care of their own bodily functions , with Dignity . Inclusivity means including, affirming, and honoring differences in how communities learn about, acces s , and make decis ions about health.

9 This means that trans gender, inters ex, non-binary, and two s pirit s tudents need to be affirmed in their acces s to products . Access means that products , education, and dis pens ers need to be equitably available for all Students , including emerging bilingual s tudents and s tudents with dis abilities . All s tudents , regardless of disability or language, need to have equitable access to exercise their own choice in accessing a variety of products at their own terms . Education includes addres s ing the bas ic human need of unders tanding how bodies work without s hame or s tigma. Health education s hould celebrate changes and growth, and provide s paces for s tudents to learn about how their bodies work. Back to Table of Contents Connect back to the pillars of Menstrual Dignity by s earching for thes e tags , which inform requirements , recommendations , and tips in the Toolkit : Privacy Inclusivity Access Education Mens trual Dignity for Students Toolkit For information about the Menstrual Dignity for Students Program please visit the Oregon Department of Education website or email ode.

10 Mens Page 6 of 26 Nove mbe r 2021 II. Temporary Oregon Administrative RulesThe Oregon State Board of Education passed the below temporary Oregon Administrative Rules (OARs) at the September 2021 meeting. This document will be updated with permanent rules in January 2022. 581-021-0600 Menstrual Dignity for Students : Definitions This temporary rule provides for key definitions of the rule, including bathroom, dis pens er, products, public s chool building, and s tudent bathroom. 581-021-0603 Menstrual Dignity for Students : Requirements This temporary rule des cribes dis pens er and product requirements , includingtechnical implementation components necessary for privacy, accessibility, and gender inclus 581-021-0606 Menstrual Dignity for Students : Education This temporary rule explains the education requirements that accompany productacces s and center pos itive attitudes towards mens truation and.