Parents Worry After Florida Schools Ask Female Student-Athletes About Their Menstrual History

A school district in Florida is looking to change a state medical form that asks its female student-athletes about their menstrual history, following criticism from some parents and physicians who say it is unnecessary for the schools to digitally store and collect such information and doing so puts the students at risk now that they are in the post-Roe v. Wade era, NBC News reported.

According to a spokesperson for The School District of Palm Beach County, they have asked the Florida High School Athletic Association to alter its physical evaluation form. They want the five optional questions about the student's menstrual history to be removed entirely from the form.

The spokesperson said that although the question regarding menstruation is optional, their district has recently inquired about having this question removed. According to the spokesperson, the paper form has been used and stored by all school districts in the state for several years. The spokesperson added that the district retains records for seven years before destroying them.

Concerns come on the heels of Florida's 15-week abortion ban

According to The Palm Beach Post, the backlash began after the district announced that it would offer student-athletes the option to digitally submit the form to the sports management software company Aktivate this school year. According to the company's privacy policy and federal law, they could be required to turn data over to legal authorities and other officials.

The concerns also come on the heels of the 15-week abortion ban in Florida and broader worries among abortion rights experts and activists about how authorities could use this digitally stored information on menstruation in light of the increasing abortion restrictions in the United States.

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Aktivate required to share information because of Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act

The optional questions on the form in Florida ask the students when they had their first periods and their most recent, as well as how long their menstrual cycles usually are, how long their longest menstrual cycle was, and how many periods they had within the year.

According to the Aktivate website, a valid subpoena would be required for them to share information with law enforcement. The company also notes that because it works directly with schools, Aktivate must comply with the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. The law protects the privacy of the educational records of students but includes disclosure exceptions for state and local authorities, subpoenas, as well as appropriate officials in cases of health and safety emergencies.

Craig Damon, the executive director of the Florida High School Athletic Association, said that state law requires it to mandate that prospective student-athletes complete evaluation forms that incorporate their medical histories. Students and parents in the state of Florida also must sign a form providing consent for the release of the former's medical history, should treatment for injury or illness be necessary.

Yvette Avila, whose teen daughter plays softball at a Palm Beach County middle school, said that they prefer not to record the menstrual data of the girl with the district. 

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