Alabama § 16-1-55 - Providing No Cost Feminine Hygiene Products to Students.

§ 16-1-55. Providing No Cost Feminine Hygiene Products to Students.

(a) For the purposes of this section, the following terms have the following meanings:

(1) FEMININE HYGIENE PRODUCTS. Includes sanitary napkins and tampons.

(2) QUALIFYING SCHOOL. A public school that satisfies each of the following criteria:

a. Provides instruction in grades five through 12.

b. Receives Title I funds.

(b)(1) There is established a grant program to award funds to local boards of education to provide feminine hygiene products to students enrolled in qualifying schools at no cost to those students. The program shall be administered by the State Department of Education, and the department shall develop procedures for the administration of the program.

(2)a. The State Superintendent of Education, annually on or before September 1, shall certify the total funds available to be awarded under the program each school year and shall allocate grant awards to the applicable local board of education for each qualifying school on a pro rata basis based on the total number of female students enrolled in grades 5 through 12 at those schools.

b. The department shall annually reimburse each local board of education the actual cost of feminine hygiene products and dispensers purchased by the local board for distribution at each qualifying school, not to exceed the annual grant allocation for that school.

(3) The State Superintendent of Education shall annually notify the local superintendent of education for each qualifying school of the amount of grant funds allocated to each local board of education for the qualifying school, and the local superintendent shall also provide notice to the department regarding the intention of each school to participate in the program.

(4) Any qualifying school that accepts a grant award under this section shall provide feminine hygiene products to female students in grades 5 through 12 through a female school counselor, female nurse, or female teacher selected by the principal at no cost to students.

(5) Grants shall be awarded annually beginning with the 2022-2023 school year, and each school year thereafter.

(6) The grants provided by this section shall be contingent on the availability of funds. The Legislature may appropriate funds to the department for this program, and the department may accept funds from nongovernmental entities to be used for this program. Funds not expended in any fiscal year shall not revert but shall remain with the department for use in implementing this program.