At the beginning of the school year we discussed issues that are important to us, and we decided to focus on menstrual products in school bathrooms.

On December 15th our community came together to share their thoughts and experiences concerning menstrual products in Boulder Valley School District (BVSD) bathrooms.

We invited community members to PBJ for a community night we titled Night of Equity, and presented a slideshow; first introducing PBJ, then describing menstrual product issues in regards to education. After our presentation, we had questions prompting discussion on period experiences. Some of the most prevalent themes were:
– Outing trans boys when they have to ask teachers or staff for period products, or having to go into the girls restroom to retrieve products.
– Period products running out in the school restrooms and not being quickly replaced.
– The quality of period products is often poor and cheap, not offering proper care.
– Social stigma surrounding periods and menstruation, making it harder for youth to ask for period products if they aren’t immediately available.
– Period poverty and the impact of period product prices.
How difficult it often is to access period products.
– Passing periods in between bells, and how short passing periods are- especially during menstruation. There is hardly any time to use the restroom.

Our plan going forward is to petition BSVD schools to include menstrual products in all bathrooms, and factor these products into the annual budget. We want wider access to higher quality products in ALL school bathrooms.