California requires menstrual products in public schools

By DON THOMPSON
Associated Press

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California public schools and colleges must stock their restrooms with free menstrual products under a new law. The measure signed Friday by Gov. Gavin Newsom builds on a 2017 law requiring low-income schools in disadvantaged areas to provide students with free menstrual products. It expands the law to include grades 6 to 12, community colleges and the California State University and University of California systems, starting in the 2022-23 school year. The state also previously repealed a tax on menstrual products that cost women an estimated aggregate $20 million a year.