A motion to provide free tampons and pads at New Westminster schools passed Tuesday night in a unanimous vote.
Cheers filled the room after trustees in School District 40 approved the plan, which will make feminine hygiene products available in elementary and high school washrooms beginning in September.
“It really is a common-sense move for us and one of those pieces that just hasn’t been normalized for so long,” school board chair Mark Gifford said.
New Westminster will be the first city in the province to enact such a policy.
It was prompted by Vancouver resident Selina Tribe, a Douglas College professor, who began pushing for improved access to free menstrual products after learning her child's elementary school didn't provide any in the washrooms.
Tribe told CTV News she was elated by Tuesday's vote.
"This is amazing," she said. "This is a decisive victory for my work and for girls and women around the province. This is the first school board and I hope many more will follow"
Tribe said she hopes to one day see the provincial government require schools to provide the products.
B.C. Education Minister Rob Fleming said the province would take a “wait and see” approach on the issue.
With files from CTV Vancouver's Emad Agahi
