Call Your School Nurse: State DOE Approves Distribution of $1M for Menstrual Products

On Thursday, August 22nd, the State Board of Education approved the Department of Education’s proposal for distributing the $1M budget expenditure authorized by the legislature in the 2019 Session!

According to Board Documents, 

these grant funds were provided in the Georgia Department of Education Agency budget as a line item for fiscal year 2020 to provide feminine hygiene products to low-income students. 

TO US, THAT ONE SENTENCE IS THE CULMINATION OF TWO YEARS OF ADVOCACY WORK AND IS JUST THE BEGINNING OF WHAT IS NEEDED!

A glance at the chart showing the Grant Allocations quickly reveals that allocated amounts seem low, given that some systems received as little as $50.00.  Nevertheless, Georgia is a national menstrual equity leader, by allocating any money at all towards this need.  

It is now a role of the Georgia STOMP coalition to get the message to as many school nurses as possible. They need to know that this money exists and they should contact their Superintendent to find out how it will be allocated in their district!

According to Board documents, again, “An end of year survey will be conducted” to ensure satisfactory performance and “accounting codes for this budget item will be tracked in GAORS.”  The performance measurements will be “based on distribution of products and percentage of product remaining at the end of the school year.”

If the information we have collected is correct, that amount should be NONE if school nurses actually know this money exists!

Call your local school nurse today and let them know to ask their Superintendent for the money!