With help from Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, Souderton will receive $10,000 allocated for the purchase and dispensing of period products throughout the entire school district.
As of now, the money is to be spent on all three levels of education, including all nine schools in the district.
Shapiro set aside almost $3 million to be sent to school districts across the state after signing Act 55 of 2024.
The act amends that “the Public School Code, among other things, should provide funding for school entities to provide menstrual products, at no cost to students.”
Souderton Area School District Director of Pupil Services Megan Zweiback has been a part of handling the grant and how it will be spent.
“Right now what we’re doing is just getting quotes for the products we wanted to purchase for the grant and then planning what we want to do,” Zweiback said.
According to Zweiback, the money will be used to purchase menstrual products, but their main focus is on the way they will be dispensed in bathrooms across the schools.
“We’re going to buy new dispensers that don’t require money,” Zweiback said.
In order to “maximize accessibility,” the implications of Act 55 suggest ensuring that dispensers “do not require inserting coins or money; is clearly marked as free in at least two languages; and is ADA compliant.”
With the current bathroom dispensers in the high school requiring an inserted quarter, the grant money will allow a change to be made that better fits Act 55’s criteria.
The concern to keep the stock of period products ample is one that is also being taken note of.
Recycle the Cycle Club advisor Karin Clark says that the high school receives an “outstanding” and “phenomenal” amount of menstrual products donated to the high school alone.
Halfway through the year, however, the donations are beginning to be practically “depleted.”
“We can tell that students are really using the products,” Clark said. “The need is there. The kids need it.”
Clark believes that Shapiro’s grant can “only be a positive thing” for females and the community.
“[Females] are going to feel more comfortable and supported,” Clark said.
Recycle the Cycle Club member Emily Clemens believes that the grant will also prove to have a positive impact, as well as make females more at ease when on their period.
“It is important to have accessible period products because it can save you from a lot of embarrassment when you’re at school,” Clemens said. “It is important to not feel so vulnerable.”
Clemens “knows the fear” that many girls and women feel when they are not able to access the products they need, especially in a public setting like school.
Along with this, Zweiback hopes that females who don’t have access to products at home will be able to use the grant implications to their benefit.
With this grant, Zweiback hopes that every female will be able to feel comfortable and safe during an often uncomfortable time of the month.
“I hope that young women would feel supported and less stigmatized around having their period in school,” Zweiback said.