Rep. Susan R. Donovan (D-Dist. 69, Bristol, Portsmouth)

PROVIDENCE — Rep. Susan R. Donovan (D-Dist. 69, Bristol, Portsmouth) is sponsoring legislation to allow students at schools to possess and use over-the-counter products for menstrual cramps and yeast infections.

The bill is intended to allow young girls an exemption to strict drug possession rules at school for relief of common female afflictions while sidestepping needless humiliation.

State education regulations prohibit anyone other than a school nurse from administering medication at schools, including over-the-counter painkillers such as the ones typically taken for menstrual cramps.

Currently, a girl experiencing cramps is supposed to go to the nurse’s office and discuss the problem with the nurse in order to get relief. But doing may involve speaking to her teacher to be excused from class, potentially exposing the girl to embarrassment in front of her classmates, Rep. Donovan said.

“Cramps and yeast infections are more than physically uncomfortable — they’re an embarrassing nightmare when you are 13 years old,” she said. “And some girls go through this misery every single month. It’s hard enough being an adolescent girl. We shouldn’t make them jump through hoops for relief from very common female discomfort.”

The reality, the lawmaker said, is that some girls are already violating the policy, risking suspension or expulsion for relief. “Others just suffer silently because they are just so embarrassed about talking to teachers or the nurse about female afflictions. We should stop making uncomfortable young girls even more uncomfortable and add some common-sense nuance to this policy,” Rep. Donovan said.

The legislation (2018-H 7570) would allow a student, while on school property or at a school-related event or activity, to possess and use over-the-counter products to treat menstrual cramps or vaginal yeast infections without a physician’s or parent’s note, and would protect schools and districts from liability.

The bill is co-sponsored by four other state representatives. Sen. Jeanine Calkin (D-Dist. 30, Warwick) has introduced identical legislation (2018-S 2340) in the Senate.