Student Health and Wellness

Feminine Hygiene Product Grant Program

The 2025 Missouri General Assembly appropriated $630,500 million for the 2025-26 school year to provide feminine hygiene products for Missouri students enrolled in grades 6-12.

Local education agencies (LEAs) must complete the following steps in order to utilize this grant: 

  1. DESE has prepared a Guidance Document that provides details on the allocation methodology, allowable uses of funds, program structure, and timeline/period of available use of funds.
     
  2. Beginning on page 4 of the Guidance Document, you’ll search by County-District Code to identify your LEA, which will show your LEA’s total allocation for this fiscal year.
     
  3. The document’s Appendix A provides the allocation formula and allocation amounts for Missouri’s LEAs. The expenditure window is from July 1, 2025-June 30, 2026. 
     
  4. New payment process beginning this year: The allocation is your maximum amount allocated to your district. This amount is divided into four (4) payments and paid to the LEA automatically on the following quarterly schedule:

    Payment #1 – September 2025
    Payment #2 – October 2025
    Payment #3 – January 2026
    Payment #4 – April 2026

    You may reach out to Kim Oligschlaeger with any specific questions regarding payments.
     
  5. Allowable use of funds is located on page 1 of the Guidance Document.  Dispensers of your LEA’s choice can be purchased as long as the products stored within them are free to female students.  Shorts/Pants have been added as an allowable use of funds based on feedback received last year. We would appreciate the completion of a short survey found at Feminine Hygiene Products Grant Program Survey, which includes an opportunity to request additions to the allowable use of funds.

For more information on the grant specifics, please contact Crystal Burgan, Director of Project AWARE, at crystal.burgan@dese.mo.gov. For finance-specific questions, please contact Kim Oligschlaeger, Coordinator of Office of College and Career Readiness Finance, at Kim.Oligschlaeger@dese.mo.gov.

Diabetes

Trained Diabetes Personnel in Missouri Schools 

This webinar is designed as a resource for school nurses throughout the state. The purpose of this webinar is to provide school nurses in Missouri with a framework for training staff as Trained Diabetes Personnel (TDP). House Bill 675, passed and signed into law in 2013, provides an opportunity for Missouri public schools to train staff to assist in the care of students with diabetes while at school. Although this is optional for schools and districts, the intent is to help support student learning by ensuring safe and effective diabetes management for students at school.

Child Sexual Abuse

Missouri's Online Mandated Reporter Training is Now Available!

Training Website:   http://protectmokids.com/    

This is a free, online program designed for all mandated reporters.  It is divided into four lessons:

  1. Legal Requirements of the Mandated Reporter
  2. Child Abuse/Neglect Defined and Indicators of Child Abuse/Neglect
  3. Plan for Responding to Suspicions Child Abuse/Neglect
  4. Effectively Reporting

In addition to these lessons, the training contains a pre- and post-test, and frequently-asked-questions section. 

The training is intended to be used as an ongoing resource for mandated reporters. Participants may choose to explore the supplemental resources provided throughout the training. The training is self-paced; participants should allow themselves one to three hours to complete.  

Participants who score 80% or greater on the training post-test will earn 0.5 Continuing Education Units (CEUs).