Watchdogging of this type works. In the fall of 2023, when Period Law helped organize the oversight hearing in NYC with Alisa Nudar, the DOE administrators that showed up didn’t have any valuable data to present on how they were complying with the law. They actually left the room before Nudar testified to her inadequate experience with the 2016 mandate. In response, New York City updated its directive: The DOE is now required to provide free products in restrooms beginning in fourth grade instead of sixth, report annually on the products being supplied to students, and develop educational materials in collaboration with the city’s Commission on Gender Equity.
