http://www.cdc.gov/parasites/lice/head/schools.html
www.mass.gov/files/documents/2016/07/xm/head-lice.pdf
Pediculosis is a common problem in school-aged children. Head lice pose no real health risk to the population and is viewed as no more than a nuisance by healthcare professionals. However, since the condition can be transmitted to others, proper and successful treatment is essential. Our goal is to educate the student and parents on the proper identification and elimination of head lice and nits as quickly as possible to minimize interruption of classroom time.
Policy: Any student found to have evidence of head lice infestation is to be excluded from school until proper treatment for lice has been completed.
Procedure:
Any student suspected of having head lice should be sent to the nurse’s office.
If the student has evidence of head lice the following steps will be taken:
Parents/guardians will be contacted to take the child/children home for treatment.
Parents/guardians will be asked to contact their child’s health care provider
Nurse will advise parents/guardians to have siblings checked
Parents/guardians need to inform the nurse which treatment option was chosen (chemical or non-chemical).
If the student has been treated with a chemical shampoo, he/she will be allowed to return with nits, provided the parent/guardian removes nits daily.
If the student has not used a chemical treatment, all lice and nits must be removed before re-entry to school.
Re-entry to school will be allowed once the student is inspected by the nurse.
Additional Information
A "no-nit policy" may be instituted by the school nurse in the case of persistent infestation or evidence of lack of compliance to this policy.
Classroom checks are not done for individual cases. As a guideline, 3 active cases in a classroom within a week may be cause for a screening.