Bill > A1974

Introduced Session

This bill entitles a student experiencing a menstrual disorder to ten excused absences from school while the student is experiencing symptoms. The absences will be considered State-recognized excused absences. Under the bill, menstrual disorders shall include, but are not limited to, dysmenorrhea, endometriosis, menorrhea, and polycystic ovarian syndrome. The absences would not count toward the 10 percent of days missed before a student is considered "chronically absent" and cannot be used to exclude a student from any awards or recognition on the basis of attendance. As an excused absence, students are required to be given the opportunity to make up any school work that was missed while the student was experiencing symptoms of a menstrual disorder. In order to have the absence recognized as an approved menstrual disorder absence the student may be required by the school district to provide any medical documentation which the superintendent or administrative principal of the school district deems necessary. This bill requires the Commissioner of Education, in consultation with the Commissioner of Health, to provide school districts with criteria for defining an excused absence related to a menstrual disorder. This bill aims to address period poverty, the term used to describe the circumstance surrounding an individual's inadequate access to menstrual hygiene tools and education, including, but not limited to, access to menstrual products. Menstruating students of color, as well as students from low-income communities, are more likely to experience period poverty. Menstrual disorders, and the pain and discomfort associated with them, are often cited as the reason menstruating students miss school days. Menstrual disorders are also fairly common; one in five menstruating students experience menorrhagia, and nearly 70 percent of menstruating students experience dysmenorrhea. Students who attend class while experiencing a menstrual disorder often report classroom performance or concentration being negatively affected. Additionally, nearly one third of students who menstruate report missing at least one day of school while experiencing menstruation. Recent studies have shown that students are significantly more likely to be absent from school on days when they are experiencing menstruation relative to other school days.

AI Summary

Committee Categories

Shama Haider (D)*,  Shanique Speight (D)*,  Verlina Reynolds-Jackson (D), 

Introduced, Referred to Assembly Education Committee (on 01/09/2024)

Official Document