A Michigan high school has attracted intense controversy after a gym class policy ordering female students to inform the school of their menstrual cycles. Lakeview High School, in St Clair Shores, explained that this is related to swimming classes and that they require this intimate information so students on their periods who can’t swim can “make up days” later.
More specifically, the policy requires the parents of female students to submit to teachers a confirmation of expected lengths of their daughters’ cycles, with their syllabus saying (as per the Guardian), “Female students will be given the opportunity to make up days, which are missed only because of their menstrual cycle. A written/email note from a parent stating the length of the menstrual duration is required, so the student can make up the days.”
They added that not complying with this requirement will result in lowered grades: “Students will complete dry land workouts to be able to make up the days. Students will not just sit out. Each day that is not made up will be considered a non-participation day and place the student on the grade reduction scale.”
“Place the student on the grade reduction scale.”
Parents are reporting this is no idle threat. CBS News quotes Bryan Shishakly, whose daughter is in her sophomore year and who she told not to comply: “My response was like, ‘If they ask, you have no obligation to tell them,’ and it did affect her grade. She’s a straight-A student, and she ended up with a C in gym, and I don’t know how fair that is since it’s only going to apply to the girls at the school.”
A dad is raising Title IX concerns after discovering his daughter's gym class syllabus requires students to disclose the length of their menstrual cycle to make up missed swimming days. https://t.co/FqrUhvfNqI
— WXYZ Detroit (@wxyzdetroit) September 16, 2026
The Lakeview public schools superintendent, Karl D Paulson is now in damage control mode and on Tuesday released a terse statement referring only to “a parent’s concern” and primly described the school demanding details of girls’ menstruation cycles as “certain class expectations”:
“We recently became aware of a parent’s concern relative to certain class expectations. Given our commitment to partnering with parents to address any issue that might arise, we immediately sought to schedule a meeting with the parent to engage in a conversation about the concern. We look forward to meeting with the parent in the coming days and working collaboratively with that objective. The Lakeview School District remains fully committed to educational excellence and best practices in all it does.”
It is also unclear whether this policy is even legal. Andy Amsdill, whose daughter attends the school, told WXYZ Detroit he was “stunned” when he saw the requirement, describing it as “ridiculous”. He added he suspects the policy is in clear violation of Title IX, which prohibits sex-based discrimination in education programs or activities that receive federal financial assistance.
Attorney John Marko, quoted by WXYZ, agrees, saying “It could be violative of both federal and our state anti-discrimination laws which is called the Elliott Larsen Civil Rights Act which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex.”
