It's the law. Period.
LAPS not following the rules.
Story by Hannah Waldschmidt
Edited by Ryan Lowery
Photograph by Minesh Bacrania
Editor’s note: Today, on Student Press Freedom Day, Boomtown is pleased to bring you a story about the local school district that’s written and reported by student journalist and Boomtown intern Hannah Waldschmidt.
As high school students, we have enough to worry about with classes, clubs, sports, jobs, and the whole shebang. So when “that time of the month” shows up for some of us, it does nothing to make our lives easier.
When talking to a friend I realized that this is a pretty universal problem. She explained that good old “Aunt Flow” struck out of nowhere while she was in an art class in the high school’s D-wing. “Luckily I had my own pad in my bag,” she said. The nurse’s office, where the school keeps a supply of pads and tampons (i.e. menstrual products), is about as far from D-wing as you can get.
This got me thinking: What happens when someone doesn’t have an extra tampon or pad handy, or is ambushed in the middle of gym class across campus from the nurse’s office, or is just stuck in a bathroom stall during a short passing period?
I shared my observations with my mom later that night. “I know there’s feminine products in the nurse’s office, but I’ve only seen a few other dispensers around campus,” I said. “Did I just miss them? Is it really even an issue? Does this affect the community?”
At that point, my mom told me about a law in New Mexico that requires all public school districts to make free menstrual products available to all public school students.
During the regular 2023 New Mexico legislative session, four legislators — Christine Trujillo, Kristian Ortiz, Tara L. Lujan, and Linda Serrano — introduced House Bill 134, which states:
“Menstrual products shall be provided at no charge to students in: (1) each women’s bathroom and gender-neutral bathroom and at least one men’s bathroom in every public middle school, junior high school, secondary school and high school; and (2) at least one women’s bathroom, one men’s bathroom and one gender-neutral bathroom in every public elementary school.”
The bill passed in the legislature in March 2023 and became law on June 16, 2023.
Over a few days in February this year (nearly three years after the law was enacted), I made the rounds on campus bathrooms to see what I would find.
I checked eighteen gender-neutral and women’s bathrooms and found:
Five had period products available
Eleven had no products
Two bathrooms were closed and labeled “out of order”
I emailed LAHS Principal Eric Ziegler and assistant principals Ryan Finn and Suzanne Montoya to share my findings, but did not receive a response.
My friends and I, however, have noticed that, over the last week, new period product dispensers have been installed in more bathrooms on the high school campus.
This isn’t the first time this issue has been brought up in our community. In September 2025, Boomtown asked the district administration for comment in response to reader inquiries about the lack of period products.
LAPS Superintendent Jennifer Guy stated by email: “All students in the district have free access to feminine hygiene products at every school. Every nurse’s office stores the products in an accessible location and products are available in many school restrooms. We are in the process of installing new dispensers and receptacles in all bathrooms across the district. This project will be completed by December 2025 and we are in compliance with state law.”
On February 23, 2026, Boomtown reached out to New Mexico’s Public Education Department to get their thoughts on my findings.
“PED stands in support of the law,” spokesperson Martha Pincoffs said. “It is not enough for schools to provide menstrual products in the office area. Schools are provided annual funding to comply with the requirement.”
The New Mexico Legislature allocated $3 million in annual funding for school districts to implement this law. Pincoffs stated that LAPS received $20,793.69 this year specifically to provide free menstrual products in student restrooms. The district received $22,296.59 for the 2024-2025 school year. This money was added directly to the general funding allocation and does not appear to have a reporting requirement.
These products are not merely a convenience to students. Not having access can cause students to miss classes, and can even have significant health problems.
Pincoffs pointed to results of the 2021 State of the Period study that showed four out of five menstruating teens said they have either missed class time, or know someone who missed class time, because they did not have access to period products. Students of color, lower-income students, and rural students were found to be most impacted by lack of access to menstrual products, according to the study.
“These products are a health care necessity that cannot be easily substituted or foregone,” Pincoffs said. “Lack of access to feminine hygiene products can keep students from attending school, distract them from their studies, or stop them from participating in after-school activities. Additionally, wearing a tampon for longer than the recommended time can result in toxic shock syndrome, with teenage girls being at particular risk for TSS.”
As part of my research into this story, I also created an online survey to better understand how this issue affects our community. Out of thirty-two responses, twenty-five (78%) supported the idea that schools should provide period products for a variety of reasons.
“We live one hour away from the school,” one parent anonymously told Boomtown. “There have been a handful of times my daughter starts her period unexpectedly because not every girl is ‘regular’ and sometimes she can have a very heavy flow. I have had to drive to pick her up because she’s embarrassed to go get a pad or tampon from the nurse. Or she ends up bleeding through her jeans by the time she gets to the nurse to get a pad and then rush to the bathroom. She has missed a halfday [sic] of school each time this has happened.”
A former LAHS student said, “Girls should not have to share this information with staff they may not feel comfortable with just to get what they need.”
As of a week ago, the Los Alamos school district was still not in compliance with state law, despite being given more than $40,000 in taxpayer dollars in the last two years. If our school district wants to make its schools a welcoming place and improve attendance and student well-being — if our school district wants to give our students the best chance at succeeding in school — providing these period products would be an easy place to start.
Whether you’re a student, a parent, or just an interested community member, let the school know that this is important to you, and to our community. You can contact administration officials at the following email addresses:
School principals Eric Ziegler, Suzanne Montoya, and Ryan Finn can be reached at: lahs.principals@laschools.net
LAPS School Board President Sondra Wyman can be reached at: s.wyman@laschools.net
LAPS Superintendent Jennifer Guy, can be reached at: j.guy@laschools.net