Iowa House lawmakers unanimously advanced a bill Monday that would require public schools to ensure students have access to menstrual products in at least half of school restrooms in middle and high schools.

The bill, House File 543, would also appropriate enough money to fund the cost of compliance with the bill until the end of fiscal 2028.

The bill advanced unanimously on Monday with Reps. Ryan Weldon, R-Ankenny, Dan Gehlbach, R-Urbandale, and Heather Matson, D-Ankeny, voted to move the bill forward for full consideration by the Iowa House Education Committee later this week.

Maanya Pandey, a third-year University of Iowa student, spoke in support of the bill. She said it would help students who can’t afford menstrual products or for those who run out during the school day. Pandey started the nonprofit Love for Red, which works to end period poverty in Iowa.

Pandey said the nonprofit currently supports more than 30 school districts with more than 60 school buildings combined, serving over 20,000 students. Pandey said they are happy to support these schools, but changing policy is necessary.

“While we support these schools now, there is no guarantee that we can support them forever,” Pandey said. “True change comes from policy change.”

Pandey asked lawmakers to support the bill so Iowa can become the 29th state in the U.S. to ensure students have access to menstrual products and so students can “focus on what matters most to their education.”

Victoria Sinclair, a lobbyist with the Iowa School Nurses Organization, said the organization would like the bill changed to include all school buildings.

Margaret Buckton, a lobbyist with the rural school advocates of Iowa, said she would like to see the grant funding for the bill continue past the end of fiscal 2028.

Matson said she was excited to vote for the bill, having personally championed a similar version introduced by Iowa House Democrats.

“I would say that high school me would also have been incredibly grateful for this,” Matson said. “Every woman and girl knows what this is like, and I am incredibly grateful that we are having this conversation.”

Iowa lawmakers advance bill to provide information about perinatal hospice

Iowa House lawmakers would advance a bill that would require medical providers to provide information on perinatal hospice care to patients whose fetus has a fatal birth defect.

The bill, House File 589, would also require the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services to publish information on hospitals that offer perinatal hospice services for patients with a fetus with fatal birth defects.

The bill advanced 2-1 with Reps. Gehlbach and Eddie Andrews, R-Johnston, in support and Rep. Beth Wessel-Kroeschell, D-Ames, opposed.

Wessel-Kroeschell said she would like to see the bill use more medically accurate language, and then she would support the bill.

Gehlbach, who chaired the panel, said he was open to amendments on changing the definitions in the bill.