How Much Would It Cost to Put “Free” Tampons and Pads in All School Bathrooms in the US? $60 Million a Year

I have previously blogged here, here, and here with speculation about how much it costs for schools to provide “free” menstrual products in bathrooms.

Based on actual data from the Cambridge (MA) Public Schools, the figure appears to be approximately $2.48 per menstruating student (see here). If that number is correct, I ask myself, how much would it cost to provide menstrual products to all public school students nation-wide? My rough (and admittedly inaccurate) estimate is approximately $60 million.  States like Texas would have a big bill (about $6.4 million per year); states like Wyoming would be paying about $117,00 per year.

While these seem like big dollar amounts, in most jurisdictions, the outlay would represent an extremely small share (less than two one-hundreths of one percent) of total current spending on students and likely would boost student attendance numbers.

My back-of-the-envelope calculations (extremely rough) on a per state basis appear after the fold.

The US Census and the 2020 Annual Survey of School System Finances provides data about public elementary-school systems by state, including current spending and enrollment. I assumed the need to provide half of all students with menstrual products.  Admittedly, this likely is an overestimate. School population totals include many students who are too young to menstruate, and not all students who menstruate will obtain their menstrual products at school. (I told you this was a back-of-the-envelope calculation.)

Here are the results: