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FHSAA votes to remove questions about menstruation from preparticipation physical evaluation form

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Posted at 6:00 AM, Feb 08, 2023
and last updated 2023-02-09 16:00:58-05

TAMPA, Fla. — The Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) Board of Directors has approved an amended Preparticipation Physical Evaluation (PPE), removing questions about menstruation in a 14-2 vote.

The group was initially supposed to meet and vote on these changes at the end of this month. But according to its website, the meeting was moved up after the proposals created "concerns and questions from parents, school district administrators, school board members, and coaches regarding the health privacy of student-athletes."

The Source of the Controversy

The proposed changes to the PPE form included four mandatory questions, which would have asked the student-athlete the following:

  1. Has ever had a menstrual period?
  2. How old were you when you had your first menstrual period?
  3. When was your most recent menstrual period?
  4. How many periods have you had in the past 12 months?

Proposal Questions by ABC Action News on Scribd


Current Ppe Form by ABC Action News

Those kinds of questions are optional on the current physical evaluation form.


Current Ppe Form by ABC Action News

Parent and Public Outcry

It's a change that's led to concern and even some outrage from parents and students across the state, including Tallahassee mother Jeann Meale Poggie. Tuesday morning, she started a petition and social media campaign called "Privacy. Period."

She tells ABC Action News that she did it to protect her 16-year-old daughter, who plays high school soccer.

"Her eyes welled up in tears at the concept of having to give such personal information. A menstrual cycle is very personal to a young girl and to a woman, and that crosses the line, and it invades that woman's privacy," she said.

The leader of the Florida House Democratic Caucus and Tampa Bay area representative, Fentrice Driskell, penned a letter to the FHSAA Tuesday. In it, she asked the organization to answer the following questions by May 7, 2023:

1. What is the science behind requiring that girls report their menstruation cycle to participate in organized sports?

2. Why is this question being considered now?

3. If parents do not feel comfortable in reporting their daughters’ menstruation cycle as a condition to participate in organized sports, can the student participate without filling out that portion of the form? If not, why not?

4. Has any member serving on the Board of Directors raised any concerns or objections? If so, what were they?

5. What security measures has the Board considered to prevent this personal information from being accessed by anyone or is that an afterthought?

6. How is this proposal HIPAA compliant?

The letter, which was cosigned by more than a dozen other state representatives, ultimately also called for the FHSAA to rescind the menstruation questions altogether.


FHSAA House Rep Letter by ABC Action News

FHSAA Response

The proposed changes have also raised concerns about the state attempting to screen for transgender student-athletes or track pregnancies.

However, in a statement to the Associated Press, Ryan Harrison, a spokesman for the FHSAA said, “There is absolutely no support of the argument that their recommendation is aimed towards addressing an individual group of people."

What's next?

Despite the pushback, it appears that the public outcry may have changed things for the FHSAA's upcoming vote.

In the agenda for Thursday's meeting, the FSHAA's Executive Director recommended that the board vote on an amended version of the PPE document that removes those menstruation questions altogether.


Ppe Form for Thursday Meeting by ABC Action News

The FHSAA meeting wasstreamed here on the organization's YouTube page.