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State of Menstrual Health Education in 2024: Content Analysis of US K-12 Public School Education Standards
Emily Richardson1, Page D Dobbs2, Sarah Bemis3
1Eleanor Mann School of Nursing, Department of Health, Human Performance and Recreation, Center for Public Health and Technology, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA.
Background:
Exploratory study aiming to assess the prevalence and time of initiation of menstrual health curriculum in US public school education standards by state.
Methods:
US public school Kindergarten-12th grade education standards from each state's Department of Education website, including D.C. (n = 51), were searched for menstruation, menstrual, menses, menopause, period, menarche, reproduction, puberty, and growth and development.
Results:
25.5% (n = 13) of US education standards include menstruation. Of these, constructs of comprehensive menstrual health were recorded including abnormal menstruation (n = 6), menstrual hygiene (n = 6), menopause (n = 1), and stigma (n = 7). Education is initiated in 3rd-5th grade (n = 6) and 6th-8th grade (n = 7). One state required boys and girls to be taught separately. Parents opt-out choice is allowed in (n = 6) and (n = 6) requires certified teachers.
Policy Implications:
Isolating menstrual education as an independent framework is needed to advocate for educational inclusion in US public schools.
Conclusions:
Menstrual health education is profoundly rare in US K-12 public education standards, despite 50 million students being impacted. Furthermore, comprehensive menstrual education does not currently exist in US education standards.
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