McConnaughy, Corrine M.Medic, Mia2025-08-012025-08-012025-04-07https://theses-dissertations.princeton.edu/handle/88435/dsp01pn89db04rPeriod poverty refers to a lack of access to menstrual products that are sanitary and safe to use, menstrual hygiene, and menstrual education. For many Americans, a lack of access to menstrual products may not seem like an urgent cause. In fact, there is often an assumption that a high-income country, like the United States, does not struggle with access to essential sanitary products. However, in a national study conducted by PERIOD.org, in the United States of America, 1 in 4 teens and 1 in 3 adults struggle to afford period products. The public school space is an important site where period poverty manifests. When a young girl cannot afford safe and sanitary menstrual products, she may be physically uncomfortable and distracted in the classroom. However, menstrual stigma adds an additional layer— she may feel a sense of shame and embarrassment. These factors cumulate resulting in increased absenteeism, as well as a worse experience within the education system for all menstruating students. There has been an increasing movement to provide free menstrual products within public schools, as a way to combat menstrual inequity. In August of 2023, the state of New Jersey enacted Bill S-1221, requiring the provision of menstrual products, free of charge, for all public schools serving students in grades 6-12. The policy requires that school districts provide menstrual products in at least 50% of female and gender-neutral school bathrooms. Due to the stigmatized nature of menstruation there is very limited data on the prevalence of period poverty in schools, as there is for similar educational barriers, such as food insecurity. Given the novelty of policy interventions to help combat period poverty in schools, like menstrual product mandates, there is no public data or studies on the current state of implementation of these policies. Thus, given the recent implementation of New Jersey’s menstrual product mandate in schools, this thesis conducts oversight for the New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE), to evaluate the current state of implementation. To assess how street-level bureaucrats are forging the implementation of New Jersey’s anti-period poverty program, this study evaluates how methods of implementation differ across schools defined by differences in their levels of student need and bureaucratic complexity. This thesis aims to understand the following questions: To what extent have public school districts in New Jersey have complied with the Bill: S-1221, requiring the provision of menstrual products for all public schools serving students in grades 6-12? What are the roles of various street-level bureaucrats in the implementation of this policy? Thus far, what have been the challenges, and successes, of the implementation of this policy? To what extent did the state of New Jersey, and the New Jersey Department of Education adequately prepare school districts to implement this policy, and how does this preparedness vary based on the need and complexity of the district? To answer these research questions, I conducted 29 semi-structured interviews with street-level bureaucrats, such as superintendents, teachers, administrators, and school nurses, to better understand what the current menstrual product policy looked like on the ground-level, I developed a method of school district categorization, to analyze how implementation varies with complexity and student-need. This thesis concludes with 11 policy recommendations for the New Jersey Department of Education and New Jersey Department of Health, to support street-level bureaucrats with the implementation of the free menstrual product program. This thesis works to highlight the and uplift recommendations of the street-level bureaucrats, within New Jersey Public Schools.en-USPrinceton University Senior Theses