Back-to-school preparation usually includes notebooks, backpacks, uniforms, and other supplies students need to participate in class. Period products belong on that list.
Menstrual products are a recurring and often expensive necessity. Students need them before and after school, overnight, on weekends, and during holidays. When products are unavailable at home, a student’s ability to arrive prepared can be compromised before the school day begins.
Dignity Grows’ Period Poverty in America 2025: Evidence and Insights report found that 41.9% of American women have experienced Period Poverty during their lifetime. The consequences can affect attendance, academic performance, mental well-being, social connection, and participation in school activities.
Period Poverty can deepen academic challenges
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, public school leaders estimated that 40% of students began the 2024–2025 academic year behind grade level in at least one subject. That figure rose to 52% in schools located in high-poverty neighborhoods.
Among young women who have experienced Period Poverty, 36% reported that it caused them to underperform academically. A student may miss school, arrive late, leave early, or struggle to concentrate because she is worried about leaking, discomfort, or having enough products to make it through the day.
Each absence can mean missed instruction, assignments, tutoring, group projects, and opportunities to ask for help.
Students can also lose opportunities to connect
Sports, clubs, music, theater, service projects, and career-readiness programs help students build confidence, relationships, and leadership skills.
Dignity Grows’ research found that one-third of young women who struggle to afford period necessities have missed school as a result. Twenty-seven percent reported sitting out of sports or extracurricular activities when they lacked appropriate menstrual products.
More than half of young women facing Period Poverty also reported negative effects on their mental health. Shame, stress, fear of exposure, and repeated exclusion can add pressure during an already demanding stage of life.
Reliable product access helps students remain present in the full academic and social life of their schools.
Why access at home matters
Providing free period products in schools is important, but school-based supplies cannot meet every need. They cannot help a student who begins her period at home, runs out of products over the weekend, or needs supplies during a school closure or vacation.
Among women who have personally experienced Period Poverty, 99% told Dignity Grows that period products must be available in the home.
At-home access allows students to prepare privately and confidently. It helps them arrive ready for class, remain at school for the entire day, and participate in activities without relying on emergency solutions.
Making period products part of school readiness
Schools and community partners can strengthen student support by:
- Including period products in back-to-school and family-support programs.
- Distributing products for students to keep at home.
- Making supplies available discreetly and without eligibility screening.
- Clearly telling students and families where products are available.
- Tracking how access affects attendance, participation, concentration, and confidence.
- Partnering with organizations that can provide consistent support throughout the year.
Funders and corporate partners can invest in programs that recognize menstrual products as essential to educational access.
A student should not lose a class, practice, audition, or opportunity with friends because period products are unavailable at home. Reliable access supports attendance, confidence, connection, and the ability to learn.
Back-to-school readiness begins before a student reaches the classroom.