Colorado § 22-2-147 - Menstrual hygiene products accessibility grant program - eligibility - report - rules - definitions.

§ 22-2-147. Menstrual hygiene products accessibility grant program - eligibility - report - rules - definitions.

(1) There is created in the department the menstrual hygiene products accessibility grant program in order to provide menstrual hygiene products at no expense to students. A grant recipient shall ensure that menstrual hygiene products are accessible to a student regardless of the student's gender identity.

(2) A grant recipient shall use the award to acquire and distribute menstrual hygiene products at no expense to students or acquire, install, and maintain a dispensing machine or disposal receptacle for menstrual hygiene products.

(3) An eligible grant recipient is:

(a) A local education provider if it has fifty percent or more students enrolled who are eligible for free or reduced-cost lunch pursuant to the federal "Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act", 42 U.S.C. sec. 1751 et seq.;

(b) The Colorado school for the deaf and the blind, created and existing pursuant to section 22-80-102 (1)(a);

(c) An approved facility school, as defined in section 22-2-402 (1); or

(d) A rural school district, a small rural district, a charter school of a rural school district or a small rural district, or an institute charter school located within the geographic boundaries of a rural school district or small rural school district.

(4) To receive a grant, an eligible grant recipient must submit an application to the department by a date specified by the department. The eligible grant recipient must include data in its application concerning the number of students enrolled at the eligible grant recipient and the number of restrooms, including gender-neutral restrooms, on the property of the eligible grant recipient.

(5) Subject to available appropriations, the department shall implement and administer the grant program, and shall award a grant to an eligible grant recipient that applies in an amount that is proportionate to the numbers of students and restrooms as provided in its application. The state board may promulgate rules as necessary to implement the grant program.

(5.3) For the 2024-25 state fiscal year, the general assembly shall appropriate to the department two hundred thousand dollars from the general fund for purposes of this section.

(5.7) The department may retain no more than ten percent of the total amount appropriated pursuant to subsection (5.3) of this section for the grant program to offset the actual administrative costs incurred in administering the grant program.

(6) (a) On or before October 1, 2022, and on or before October 1 each year thereafter, each grant recipient shall submit a report to the department. The report must include information concerning the amount of money spent on the acquisition and distribution of menstrual hygiene products and the amount of money spent on the acquisition, installation, and maintenance of a dispensing machine or disposal receptacle for menstrual hygiene products.

(b) On or before January 2, 2023, and on or before January 2 each year thereafter, the department shall submit a summarized report of the information received pursuant to subsection (6)(a) of this section to the education committees of the senate and house of representatives, or any successor committees.

(c) Notwithstanding the requirement in section 24-1-136 (11)(a)(I), the requirement to submit the report required in this subsection (6) continues indefinitely.

(7) The department may seek, accept, and expend gifts, grants, or donations from private or public sources for the purposes of this section.

(8) As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires:

(a) "Grant program" means the menstrual hygiene products accessibility grant program created and existing pursuant to this section.

(b) "Local education provider" means a school district, a charter school authorized by a school district pursuant to part 1 of article 30.5 of this title 22, a charter school authorized by the state charter school institute pursuant to part 5 of article 30.5 of this title 22, or a board of cooperative services created and operating pursuant to article 5 of this title 22 that operates one or more public schools.

(c) "Menstrual hygiene products" means tampons, menstrual pads, and pantiliners.

(d) "Rural school district" means a school district that the department of education determines is rural, based on the geographic size of the school district and the distance of the school district from the nearest large, urbanized area.

(e) "Small rural school district" means a school district that the department of education determines is rural, based on the geographic size of the school district and the distance of the school district from the nearest large, urbanized area, and that enrolls fewer than one thousand two hundred students in kindergarten through twelfth grade.

Source: L. 2021: Entire section added, (SB 21-255), ch. 444, p. 2934, § 1, effective September 7. L. 2024: (2), (3)(b), (3)(c), and (6) amended and (3)(d), (5.3), (5.7), (8)(d), and (8)(e) added, (HB 24-1164), ch. 438, p. 3063, § 2, effective August 7.