Broward Schools to Pilot Free Pads and Tampons in Student Restrooms at Seven Campuses

Students at seven Broward County public schools will be able to get free pads and tampons from dispensers in their restrooms under a pilot program the Broward County School Board approved unanimously, WLRN reported Monday. The district has not yet chosen which schools will take part or said how much it will spend. The move makes Florida's second-largest school district the latest to use a 2023 state law that lets districts offer menstrual products at no charge but does not require or fund them.

Right now, how a Broward student gets a pad or tampon during the school day depends on the campus. Some schools keep supplies in the clinic and others keep them in the front office, according to WLRN. That means a student who starts her period unexpectedly often has to leave class and ask an adult for help. The pilot would put dispensers holding both pads and tampons in student restrooms.

How the pilot will work

The district will pick the seven schools based on documented student need, existing student health conditions and each school's ability to run and sustain the program, WLRN reported. Deputy Superintendent Angela Fulton told the board that each dispenser costs roughly $200 to $500, depending on its size and capacity, and that a unit holds about 50 tampons and 50 pads. The board did not set a dollar amount for the program.

Board member Rebecca Thompson urged the district to test the idea in different kinds of schools and neighborhoods, including a school serving grades 6 through 12 and a traditional high school, and to compare delivery methods such as dispensers versus baskets. She said the program should be tried "in various different environments."

The district plans to track usage, costs and how the program is carried out. When the pilot ends, the superintendent is to report back to the board with usage rates, the financial impact and recommendations on whether to expand the program or make it permanent.

School Board Chair Sarah Leonardi said the pilot reflects a commitment to supporting the "well-being, dignity and academic success" of every student, and that the goal is to help students stay focused in class and take full part in school life.

Students and advocates pushed for it

The proposal came from three advocacy groups, PRISM, Youth Action Fund and Promote Her, Period, according to WLRN. Anaya Andre, founder and executive director of Promote Her, Period, said the effort grew from a simple question into a collective movement to demand change and expand access.

At the board's Oct. 13 meeting, several students wearing pink shirts described the stress of starting a period at school without a pad or tampon. Arisa Porter, a senior at American Heritage High School in Plantation and a swimmer, told the board that "something as natural as a period" should never keep someone from taking part in what they love, WLRN reported.

What Florida law allows

Broward's pilot rests on a law the Florida Legislature passed without a single no vote in 2023. House Bill 389, titled Menstrual Hygiene Products in Public Schools, lets school districts provide menstrual hygiene products at no charge in schools and in certain locations within them, such as the school nurse's office and student restrooms. It sets requirements for the products and dispensers, requires participating schools to tell students where and when the products are available and encourages districts to partner with outside organizations to supply and maintain them.

The bill, sponsored in the House by Rep. Kelly Skidmore, passed the House 116-0 and the Senate 40-0. Gov. Ron DeSantis approved it on May 17, 2023, and it took effect July 1, 2023, according to the Florida Senate's bill history.

The final law was narrower than what some lawmakers wanted. A Senate version filed by then-Sen. Lauren Book as the Learning with Dignity Act would have required middle and high schools to stock products in nurse's offices and in at least a quarter of their restrooms. That bill died in committee, leaving the decision up to each district.

The state money that was vetoed

Florida also declined to pay for the products. In June 2024, DeSantis vetoed $6.4 million for a Menstrual Hygiene Products Grant Program, a pilot that would have provided free pads and tampons to K-12 public school students, as part of about $950 million in line-item cuts to a $116.5 billion state budget, Central Florida Public Media reported.

State Rep. Anna Eskamani, an Orlando Democrat, said at the time she was surprised by the veto because the pilot had overwhelming bipartisan support. "A budget speaks to our values," she said. A spokesperson for the governor said he reviews every bill and appropriation that comes across his desk.

Florida is not among the 27 states and the District of Columbia that require schools to provide menstrual products, according to figures from the Alliance for Period Supplies cited in that coverage. The group says about 1 in 4 students struggle to afford period products.

Other Florida districts

Broward is not the first Florida district to put products in restrooms. In Leon County, dispensers with free tampons and pads were installed in the girls' restrooms of every middle and high school, with products also available in elementary school offices, WCTV reported in 2023. That effort began with a Rickards High School student's campaign.

In Hillsborough County, a dispenser program started by a Tampa teenager placed dispensers in Title I middle and high schools, where need is greatest, with custodians keeping them stocked, FOX 13 reported in January 2023. School Board member Karen Perez, who helped secure the funding, called the program "a game changer" for students.

A tight budget backdrop

Broward's pilot is starting small at a time when the district is watching its spending. Broward opened the 2026-27 school year with about 11,000 fewer students than the year before, a drop that equates to roughly $100 million less in funding, Superintendent Howard Hepburn said in August, according to WLRN. The district, which has about 180,000 students, has been closing and consolidating schools under a plan called Redefining Our Schools as enrollment declines.

At $200 to $500 a dispenser, the equipment for a seven-school pilot is a small line in a budget that size. The larger unknown is the ongoing cost of keeping them stocked, and the superintendent's end-of-pilot report is to include the program's financial impact.

What's next

District staff must now choose the seven schools and the mix of dispensers and other delivery methods. WLRN reported that products will be offered beginning this school year, though no start date has been announced. After the pilot, the superintendent's report on usage, costs and recommendations will go to the board, which will decide whether to expand free menstrual products to more of Broward's schools.