Requires school districts to incorporate age-appropriate instruction on menstrual toxic shock syndrome and requires installation of signage in certain women's rooms to enhance public awareness of menstrual toxic shock syndrome.

A4477

ASSEMBLY, No. 4477

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

INTRODUCED FEBRUARY 24, 2026

Sponsored by:

Assemblywoman� VICTORIA A. FLYNN

District 13 (Monmouth)

Co-Sponsored by:

Assemblyman Scharfenberger

SYNOPSIS

���� Requires school districts to incorporate
age-appropriate instruction on menstrual toxic shock syndrome and requires
installation of signage in certain women�s rooms to enhance public awareness of
menstrual toxic shock syndrome.�

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As introduced.

��

An Act
concerning toxic shock syndrome and supplementing Title
18A of the New Jersey Statutes and Title 26 of the Revised Statutes.�

����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:

���� 1.��� Beginning with the first
full school year following the date of enactment, each school district shall
incorporate instruction on menstrual toxic shock syndrome in grades four through
12 as part of the district�s implementation of the New Jersey Student Learning
Standards in Comprehensive Health and Physical Education.� The instruction
shall include information on the causes and symptoms of menstrual toxic shock
syndrome and the ways in which a student may reduce the risk for developing the
syndrome.� The Commissioner of Education shall provide school districts with
age-appropriate sample learning activities and resources designed to implement
this requirement.

���� 2.��� a.� The owner of a group
A or M occupancy that maintains a restroom that is open to the public and
available for use by women, and that includes two or more toilets, shall ensure
the installation and maintenance of a sign in the restroom alerting women to
the warning signs, causes, and dangers of menstrual toxic shock syndrome.� The
sign shall be installed on or near a tampon dispenser, if one exists in the
restroom, or in a prominent location of the restroom.� The sign shall be
installed on or before the first day of the sixth month next following the
adoption of rules and regulations pursuant to subsection b. of this section.�

���� b.��� The Commissioner of
Health shall promulgate rules and regulations pursuant to the �Administrative
Procedure Act,� P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), in order to effectuate the
purposes of this section.� The rules and regulations shall include, but not be
limited to, standards for the placement, appearance, and wording of the
required signage, and the frequency and criteria of public access that shall
cause a space to be designated as open to the public.

���� c.���� As used in this
section, �group A or M occupancy� means an Assembly Group A occupancy or a
Mercantile Group M occupancy, as defined in the most recently adopted New
Jersey International Building Code or its successor, with the exception of an
occupancy located within an elementary school that does not include grades
above grade five.

���� 3.��� The Commissioner of
Health shall prepare and make available on the Internet website of the
Department of Health informational literature concerning the signs, causes, and
dangers of menstrual toxic shock syndrome.

���� 4.��� This act shall take
effect immediately.

STATEMENT

���� This bill requires each school
district to incorporate instruction on menstrual toxic shock syndrome in grades
four through 12 as part of the district�s implementation of the New Jersey
Student Learning Standards in Comprehensive Health and Physical Education.� The
bill directs the Commissioner of Education to provide school districts with
age-appropriate sample learning activities and resources designed to implement
this requirement.

���� This bill also requires the
owner of a group A or M occupancy, that maintains a public restroom available
for use by women, to ensure the installation and maintenance of a sign in the
restroom alerting women to the warning signs, causes, and dangers of menstrual
toxic shock syndrome.� This requirement only applies to restrooms that include
two or more toilets.

���� The bill also requires the
Department of Health to adopt rules and regulations to effectuate the purposes
of the bill.� The bill requires the menstrual toxic shock syndrome signs to be
installed in the necessary restrooms on or before the first day of the sixth
month following the adoption of rules and regulations by the department.

����
Under the bill, �group A or M occupancy� means
an
Assembly Group A occupancy or a Mercantile Group M occupancy, as defined in the
most recently adopted New Jersey International Building Code
.�
Under the bill, locations within elementary
schools that do not include grades above grade five are excluded from the
�group A or M occupancy� definition.

���� Additionally, the bill directs
the Department of Health to prepare and make available on its website
informational literature concerning the signs, causes, and dangers of menstrual
toxic shock syndrome.

���� This bill is intended to
enhance public awareness of menstrual toxic shock syndrome, a potentially
serious illness that can develop quickly.� Women that use tampons and similar
devices have a higher risk of contracting menstrual toxic shock syndrome.� Early
symptoms may include a low fever, muscle aches, chills, fatigue, and
headaches.� As menstrual toxic shock syndrome progresses, symptoms may include
a high fever, vomiting, rashes, redness of the eyes, lips and tongue, low blood
pressure, and mental confusion.� Menstrual toxic shock syndrome is generally
treated with antibiotics.

���� This bill is in honor of
Madalyn �Maddy� Massabni, who tragically passed away on March 30, 2017, just
days after contracting menstrual toxic shock syndrome.� Maddy was a 2016
graduate of Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School and was just beginning her academic
career at Lynn University in Florida.