Florida mom launches ‘Privacy. Period!’ campaign to block menstrual cycle reporting requirements

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UPDATE: The Florida High School Athletic Association Board of Directors has scheduled an emergency meeting Thursday at 10:30 a.m. to discuss the health forms student athletes must complete to participate in high school sports. The materials for the emergency meeting, which will be held virtually, show an updated version of the forms, which do not include questions about the student’s menstrual cycle. The new version will be up for a vote, which goes against prior recommendations from the FHSAA’s Sports Medicine Advisory Committee.

The agenda packet for the emergency meeting explains the reason for the change:

“The submission of the full FHSAA EL2 Form to member schools has created concerns and questions from parents, school district administrators, school board members, and coaches regarding the health privacy of student-athletes. While the Association understands it is vital to protect the privacy of all student-athletes, we must address the important role medical history plans in a pre-participation physical examination. Therefore, this recommendation provides pertinent medical history to the qualified health care practitioner and gives schools the medical authorization necessary for allowing athletic participation, while protecting the privacy of the student-athlete.”

“Privacy. Period!” campaign founder Jenn Meale Poggie applauded the decision.

“Yes!! This is the right thing to do – remove mandatory menstrual cycle questions for female athletes,” she tweeted following the news.

Yes!! This is the right thing to do – remove mandatory menstrual cycle questions for female athletes!! @FHSAA #PrivacyPeriod https://t.co/nrSm0KSL2q

— Jenn Meale Poggie (@JennMeale) February 7, 2023

The group Florida High School Football also celebrated the update.

“Got to give props to the @FHSAA for listening to those regarding the privacy concerns regarding menstrual cycle information for female athletes,” the group, which represents high school football and flag football players, tweeted.

Got to give props to the @FHSAA for listening to those regarding the privacy concerns regarding menstrual cycle information for female athletes and striking it from the proposed updated EL2 form going against the Sports Medicine Advisory Committee's (SMAC) recommendations.

— FloridaHSFootball.com (@FlaHSFootball) February 7, 2023

Florida Politics previously reported:

As the Florida High School Athletic Association Board of Directors prepares to consider a proposal that would mandate questions about girls’ menstrual cycles as a requirement to compete in sports, a Florida mom is launching a new campaign to stop the measure from being approved.

Jenn Meale Poggie is spearheading the “Privacy. Period!” campaign ahead of the scheduled meetings Feb. 26-27.

“Teenaged girls’ menstrual cycles are private, and any conversations or disclosure about them should be among the girl, the parents and their physicians. Requiring disclosure about periods to athletic departments is a complete overstep and violation of privacy,” Meale Poggie said. “Athletic departments need to stay out of health care and respect female athletes’ privacy.” 

Those who support the campaign’s pro-privacy message are encouraged to sign a petition indicating their opposition to the proposed reporting requirements. 

As of 10 a.m. Tuesday, only 12 people had signed the petition, though it had only just been posted to change.org. 

Female high school athletes are currently asked to provide information about their menstrual cycles on health forms required for sports participation, but providing that information is optional, according to The Associated Press. 

Forms currently ask students five questions related to their menstrual cycle, including when they had their first menstrual cycle; when their most recent cycle was; how often do they menstruate; how many cycles they’ve had in the last year; and the longest interval between periods in the last year. Answers to those questions are not mandatory.

The proposed form would include four questions, which would be mandatory. Those questions include whether the student has ever had a period; the age at the first period; the date of their most recent period; and how many cycles they’ve had in the past year. 

Supporters, including a member of the board’s sports medicine advisory committee, Robert Sefcik, say the proposed mandatory questions are consistent with national guidelines for sports physicals developed by the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Sports Medicine and other groups, according to The Associated Press. 

Those national guidelines say menstrual history is an “essential discussion for female athletes” because period abnormalities could be a sign of low energy, pregnancy or other medical conditions. 

The campaign against the mandatory questions disagrees, with the change.org petition noting high school coaching staff should be kept “out of the health care industry.”

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Content from The Associated Press was used in this report.