A new law in California will require free menstrual products to be available at all public schools. The requirement extends to institutions that cover 6th through 12th grade, community college, and the state university system. 
Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed the Menstrual Equity for All Act on October 8. The bill was introduced by California State Assemblymember Cristina Garcia (D). The law will take effect at the beginning of the next school year.
'Just as toilet paper and paper towels are provided in virtually every public bathroom, so should menstrual products,' Garcia said in the statement.
'It is time we recognize and respond to the biology of half the population by prioritizing free access to menstrual products, and eliminating all barriers to them,' Garcia said.
According to LAist, while four other states require free period products at public schools, this is the first law of its kind in the U.S. extending that mandate to public colleges and universities.
In 2020, the government of Scotland moved to make period products freely available in not only schools but other public buildings. And New Zealand began rolling out its own free period product program in schools in June 2021.
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