CCSD IS YOUR PERIOD PARTNER

What it is

The Period Partner Project provides free menstrual products in female and gender-neutral middle and high school bathrooms, in special programs, and in school health clinics across grade levels.  This project aligns with the CCSD Core Values of Growth Mindset, Equity, Whole Wellbeing, Engagement, and Relationships.  

Growth Mindset

De-Stigmatize

• More than 1 in 3 young people have been shamed or teased because of their period
• 69% feel embarrassed when they have to bring period products to the bathroom
• 65% believe society teaches people to be ashamed of their periods
• 71% feel self-conscious during their period

Dignity
Menstrual products are basic necessities, and the inability to access them affects a student's desired dignity through the freedom to study, be healthy, and participate wholly in society without fear, coercion, violence or discrimination.

Equity

• 16% of students have chosen to buy period products over food or clothes
• Almost 50% of Black and Latinx students feel they are not able to do their best school work because of a lack of access to period products
• 82% of students agree that if there is free toilet paper in bathrooms, there should be free menstrual products, and 84% think menstrual products are just as important as toilet paper or soap in public bathrooms

Whole Wellbeing

• 51% of students have worn period products for longer than recommended
• 23% of U.S. teens have struggled to afford period products or were not able to purchase them at all
• Two-thirds of teens have felt stress due to a lack of access to period products
• 58% of young girls lose confidence at puberty

Engagement

• 25% (1 in 4 teens) have missed class because of a lack of access to period products
• 66% do not want to be at school when they are on their period 

Legislation

• Many states have passed legislation requiring schools to provide free menstrual products to students, including Alabama, California, Delaware, New York, Hawaii, Illinois, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Virginia, Washington, Oregon and Utah
• Many more cities and states are in the process of passing legislation requiring free menstrual products in schools, and/or have passed legislation removing the "pink tax" on menstrual products
• Colorado legislation passed in 2021 created a grant program so that eligible schools can stock tampons and pads free of charge

Relationships

• 81% of young menstruators agree that it’s important for everyone to understand the issue of lack of access to period products, not just people with periods
• Nearly 3 out of 4 young women believe that boys and men need to be involved in the conversation about periods

All data is from either the “It’s Time to Talk” Report or the “State of the Period” White Papers and were based on studies conducted in the United States.  (It's Time to Talk), (State of the Period 2018, and State of the Period 2021).