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Students Raising Hands in classroom

School Head Lice Policies: Too Lenient or Too Strict?

There appears to be a trend for some school districts to change their policies about head lice in the classroom. In an effort to keep kids in class, maintain confidentiality, and prevent misdiagnosis, school officials are leaning toward removing “no nit” policies and replacing them with more lenient policies.

There are three basic policies regarding schools and head lice. If your school district has
• a “No Nit” policy, students are not allowed to be in school if any nits are found in the hair.
• a “No Live Lice” policy, students are allowed to be in school with nits, but not with live bugs.
• a “Live Lice and Nits Allowed” policy, students are allowed to remain in school even though nits and/or live lice are found on the scalp and in the hair.

There are variations of the policies that allow school nurses or other personnel to make judgment calls based on several factors including a number of nits or live lice or the distance of nits or live lice from the scalp. There are also varying opinions regarding the need to notify parents when outbreaks occur.

Fresh Heads has a complete rundown of public school district head lice policies for North Florida, South Georgia, and South Carolina at www.freshheadsliceremoval.com/school-lice-policies/. Head lice policies for private schools vary from one school to another and are not necessarily the same as the public schools’ policy. Parental awareness of these policies, both public and private, is a critical factor in keeping your child and his or her classmate’s lice free. It is also incumbent for parents to do head lice checks on their own, no matter how strict or lenient their school’s policy is.

While not dangerous in the worst sense of the word, head lice infestations are aggravating nuisances. The more you know, the easier it is to deal with them. The professionals at Fresh Heads stay up-to-date and knowledgeable about school head lice policies. We are your go-to resource when you have questions or concerns about how your school handles head lice outbreaks.

Lice Infestation Linked to Mysterious Deaths

Here’s a scary story about the possible dangers of lice infestation:

The mystery deaths of hundreds of children in eastern Uttar Pradesh last year was likely caused by a bacterial infection that is transmitted through head lice, an expert group has concluded.

The group of 20-odd experts from India and abroad, which was set up on November 19 last year, submitted its report to the state government last week.

Read more here, and remember that while lice infestations in the US are more likely to be a nuisance and irritant than to cause long-term harm, there are dangers if a lice infestation is unchecked.  Contact us if you have questions about lice removal or lice prevention!