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An Oregon mom is challenging a state law requiring schools to provide free tampons in all bathrooms, including men’s.
The Oregon legislature passed the Menstrual Dignity Act in August 2021, which required schools to ramp up the supply of tampons for students in stages. Schools were first required to provide free tampons in any two bathrooms of their choosing by the end of the 2021-2022 school year, but they will be required to provide the products in all bathrooms regardless of gender by 2023, according to Oregon Live.
Mother and Eagle Point School District board member Cherylene Stritenberg petitioned the Oregon Department of Education to roll back the law, arguing it wastes school funding.
The law passed through the state legislature with near-universal support from both Republicans and Democrats.
Inclusive Public Restroom Sign. Genderless And Handicapped Toilet
(Istock/ AndreyPopov)
“As we know, there’s a lot of our youth who don’t identify as female or male or are transitioning genders,” Oregon state Rep. Ricki Ruiz, a Democrat, said of the bill. “We wanted to respect that and make sure we provide these resources in all restrooms for folks who may be struggling to transition to a different restroom.”
The legislation will cost the state roughly $5.6 million out of its $9.3 billion education budget.
Stritenberg’s petition argues that the state should strike the requirement to provide tampons specifically in boy’s bathrooms, calling it a “misuse” of funds, according to OL.
The petition comes amid a wider push from parents against Democratic attempts to impose transgender policies on the U.S. education system.
The conservative parent advocacy group Fight for Schools has also accused President Joe Biden’s administration of holding federal school lunch funds “hostage” in order to leverage gender identity policies onto schools.
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“What you’re seeing here is really the Biden administration saying ‘you’re going to do what I want or I’m going to take your lunch money,’” FFS Executive Director Ian Prior told Fox News in June. “For the federal government to come in and really tie school nutrition and school lunch programs to this radical ideology is terrifying, and it’s appalling.”
