Menstrual Equity for All Act: Schools, Prisons, and Workplaces

The Menstrual Equity for All Act is a proposed federal bill, most recently introduced as H.R. 3644 in the 119th Congress, that would require free menstrual products in K–12 schools, federal buildings, federal prisons and immigration detention, and workplaces with 100 or more employees, while also adding the products to Medicaid coverage and barring state sales taxes on them. It has not become law. Parts of what it seeks to accomplish are already handled by other federal statutes, and the rest remains a proposal only.

Current Status of the Bill

Representative Grace Meng of New York has introduced versions of the bill across multiple Congresses. Earlier numbers include H.R. 2478 in the 117th Congress and H.R. 3646 in the 118th Congress.¹ The 2025 version, H.R. 3644, was introduced and referred to committee.² None of these versions has passed the House or Senate, and none has been signed into law. Everything described below as a bill provision would take effect only if Congress enacts the legislation.

What the Bill Would Require in Schools

For K–12 schools, the bill would amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to require that free menstrual products be made available to students.³ The Secretary of Education would have one year after enactment to define which products qualify.

Colleges and universities would be handled through a competitive grant program instead of a mandate. At least four institutions of higher education would receive grants to provide free products and report on best practices, with at least half of the grants reserved for community colleges. Priority would go to institutions where at least 25 percent of students receive Pell Grants and to minority-serving institutions. The bill authorizes $5 million for this program.³ Several states, including California and Illinois, have already enacted their own school-level requirements.

Medicaid Coverage

Menstrual products are not currently a covered Medicaid benefit under federal law. The GAO has confirmed that while some managed care plans may voluntarily cover the products as extra benefits, those costs come out of plan profits rather than federal Medicaid payments, and no state has sought federal approval to cover the products through Section 1115 demonstration waivers or other available pathways.⁴

The bill would amend Section 1905 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396d) to add menstrual products to Medicaid’s list of covered items. The requirement would take effect one year after enactment, with additional time for states whose legislatures need to pass implementing laws.³ Medicaid covers roughly 90 million people at any given time, so the change would be substantial. Until it passes, low-income individuals on Medicaid have no federal guarantee of coverage.

Federal Buildings

The bill would require the head of any federal agency or official responsible for operating a public building to stock free menstrual products in every restroom of covered buildings.³ Courthouses, federal office buildings, and other public-facing federal facilities with public restrooms would be covered. The requirement applies to all restrooms in these buildings, not only those designated for women. Today, access in federal buildings depends on individual agency policy.

Federal Prisons, ICE Detention, and State Facilities

Federal prisons are already required to provide free menstrual products under the First Step Act of 2018. That law directs the Bureau of Prisons to make tampons and sanitary napkins available at no cost, in quantities appropriate to each person’s needs, and at a quality level meeting industry standards.⁵ A GAO report found compliance uneven, with some facilities failing to stock the five required product types in common areas or exceeding the 24-hour replenishment requirement.⁶

The bill would extend the requirement in two directions. First, it would direct the Attorney General and the Secretary of Homeland Security to ensure products are distributed at no cost to all federal prisoners and detainees, formally covering ICE detention and U.S. Marshals Service custody, where standards are currently weaker. Second, it would tie access to Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grants: any state receiving these grants would have to certify that everyone incarcerated or detained in its facilities has on-demand access to free menstrual products. A state that fails to certify would lose 20 percent of its Byrne grant funding the following year.³ That funding lever is how the bill reaches state and local facilities without directly regulating them.

Workplaces With 100 or More Employees

The bill would amend the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 655) to require employers with 100 or more employees to provide menstrual products free of charge, with the Secretary of Labor issuing the implementing rule.³ The bill does not create a separate penalty tier; because the mandate sits inside the OSHA framework, enforcement would follow OSHA’s existing penalty structure. Smaller employers are not covered.

Funding for Low-Income and Homeless Populations

Three funding streams would address period poverty outside institutional settings:

A competitive TANF grant program authorizing $10 million per year starting in fiscal year 2026 for states and local agencies to help eligible families purchase menstrual products.³
An increase in Social Services Block Grant funding to $1.9 billion annually for fiscal years 2026 through 2029, with $200 million earmarked to help states reduce unmet menstrual product need among low-income individuals. Administrative costs would be capped at 9 percent.
An amendment to the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act to codify that Emergency Food and Shelter Grant Program funds may be used for menstrual products. FEMA already allowed this beginning in 2016, but statutory language would lock the eligibility in.

The bill does not extend SNAP or WIC to cover menstrual products. Those programs exclude non-food items, and this legislation does not change that.

State Sales Tax Prohibition

The bill would prohibit states and local governments from imposing sales tax on menstrual products.³ As of early 2026, 18 states still tax these products at rates of roughly 4 to 7 percent before local surcharges. The remaining states either repealed the tax or never had a general sales tax. A federal prohibition would preempt the remaining state taxes and end the state-by-state patchwork.

Which Products Would Be Covered

The 2025 bill defines “menstrual product” to include pads, tampons, liners, menstrual cups, menstrual discs, and menstrual underwear, so long as they conform to applicable industry standards.³ Including reusable products such as cups and period underwear matters because their upfront cost is higher but their long-term cost is lower.

What Federal Law Already Covers Without This Bill

Two provisions of existing federal law overlap with the bill’s goals and are in effect regardless of whether it passes.

Since 2020, menstrual care products have been qualified medical expenses under Health Savings Accounts, Flexible Spending Accounts, Archer MSAs, and Health Reimbursement Arrangements. The CARES Act added the provision, now codified in the Internal Revenue Code, and the statute lists tampons, pads, liners, cups, sponges, and similar items.⁷ IRS Publication 969 confirms these expenses qualify for reimbursement without a prescription.⁸ Paying with pre-tax dollars through one of these accounts lowers the effective cost by 20 to 30 percent depending on your marginal tax rate.⁹

The First Step Act’s requirement that the Bureau of Prisons provide free products to incarcerated individuals is also existing law, with the compliance gaps noted above.

1
Congress.gov. Menstrual Equity For All Act of 2023
2
Congress.gov. HR 3644 Menstrual Equity For All Act of 2025
3
Congress.gov. Menstrual Equity For All Act of 2025 – Full Text
4
U.S. Government Accountability Office. Medicaid: Menstrual Product Coverage
5
GovInfo. 18 USC 4042 – Duties of Bureau of Prisons
6
U.S. Government Accountability Office. Federal Custody: Bureau of Prisons and ICE Should Take Actions to Improve Access to Menstrual Products
7
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 223 – Health Savings Accounts
8
IRS. Publication 969 (2025), Health Savings Accounts and Other Tax-Favored Health Plans
9
IRS. IRS Outlines Changes to Health Care Spending Available Under CARES Act