New law requires Colorado middle and high schools to provide free period products in bathrooms

Gov. Jared Polis signed a bill into law this week requiring Colorado middle and high schools to provide free period products in girls’ bathrooms by 2028.

The legislation, HB24-1164, phases in the mandate with 25% of applicable bathrooms needing to comply by June 2025, then increasing the total by another 25% each year until full compliance is met in 2028.

“Periods don’t wait — and this important law ensures that Colorado students can access the menstrual products they need, when they need them,” Rep. Brianna Titone, D-Arvada, one of the bill’s sponsors, said in a news release. “Without access to menstrual products, our students risk missing out on valuable learning time and can experience emotional distress. Our new law makes menstrual products free and accessible in schools to Colorado’s teens.”

According to a study commissioned by Denver nonprofit Justice Necessary — an organization focused on ending period poverty — 80% of female teens in Colorado have missed class due to lack of menstrual products and 90% have unexpectedly started their periods in public without proper menstrual products.

The law also expands the Menstrual Hygiene Grant Program, signed into law in 2021, to provide free menstrual hygiene products to students. The legislation requires the General Assembly to appropriate $200,000 toward the grant program in the 2024-24 fiscal year.

The grant program lets schools use grant money to purchase menstrual hygiene products and install dispensers and disposal receptacles. The expansion intends to provide more grant access to small, rural school districts and charter schools.

“By signing this bill… Governor Polis is ensuring every student across the state can go to school without worrying about when your period might arrive, or if you have the products you need to manage it,” said Diane Cushman Neal, founder and president of Justice Necessary, in a news release. “I am proud to live in a state that ensures students can attend class without the worry of having the necessary products to manage their periods, because access to period products, just is necessary.”

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