This new law, in part, comes as , a high school student from Solano County who advocated for comprehensive menstruation education in schools after her own struggles with her menstrual health.
Srinivasan faced resistance when she asked for support of the bill at her local school board meeting.
"We said things like 鈥榖lood,鈥� we said 鈥榲agina鈥� in our testimony because that's what menstruation talks about," Srinivasan recalled. 鈥淸School board members] were like, 鈥楾he language that you used was grotesque.鈥欌��
She finds that this type of stigma around menstruation limits students' understanding of their bodies.
The bill, which goes into effect in the upcoming school year, ensures that all students in grades 7 to 12 will learn about menstruation, pre-menstruation, and related disorders in sexual health classes 鈥� an amendment to the .
"It鈥檚 almost a year since the idea had been conceived and for it to be California law was an incredible feeling," said Srinivasan.
Quinten Voyce, Srinivasan鈥檚 biology teacher, played a crucial role in identifying gaps in the existing sexual health curriculum.
"Really unless it's prescribed in the education code, there is quite a bit that we're not allowed to talk about, especially when it comes to sexual health,鈥� he said. 鈥淪o certainly it was lacking in menstrual education.鈥�
Although the new law lacks stringent accountability measures, Srinivasan is committed to ensuring schools across the state follow through on the curriculum changes.
The bill, co-authored by Assemblymember Lori Wilson, recognized the state's financial challenges and intentionally crafted it without any allocated funding.
"We want to make sure that the minimum as a state was that we had menstrual health education overall but also ensuring that we gave flexibility to our Department of Education as well as our districts,鈥� she said.
While Wilson will track the law's implementation, she encourages community members to monitor their local schools鈥� compliance with sexual health education standards.
This call to action follows a recent incident in April when .
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