Some Florida schools ask student athletes to report period data online
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Some Florida student athletes are now required to submit information on their menstrual cycles online.
Background: For two decades, the Florida State High School Athletic Association has given female athletes an optional set of questions on a paper athletic pre-participation physical evaluation form, the Palm Beach Post reports.
- Those include: "When was your most recent menstrual period?" and "How much time do you usually have from the start of one period to the start of another?"
Driving the news: Some schools are moving those forms to a digital platform through a third party, the Florida Times Union reports.
- Families and doctors are upset that a paper form once turned into a school's athletic director will now be kept online and that coaches can see it. And some parents worry that their children's health data could be leaked or sold.
- Palm Beach County is now storing student athletes' data on Aktivate. Sarasota, Broward and Hillsborough counties are also using the athletic department management software, though not all use it to track student data, the Times Union reports. Hillsborough County Public Schools told Axios the district only stores coaches' data, like their training information, on Aktivate.
The big picture: After the Supreme Court's overturning of Roe v. Wade, Americans are wary that their medical data could be used against them.
- Medical information for Florida's student athletes has been discussed by legislators since transgender girls were banned from girls' sports.
What they're saying: "I don't see why (school districts) need that access to that type of information," pediatric endocrinologist Michael Haller told the Times-Union. "It sure as hell will give me pause to fill it out with my kid."
Editor's note: This story has been corrected to remove erroneous reporting about Hillsborough County Public Schools' use of the Aktivate software by the Florida Times Union.