PROCEDURE FOR LICE MANAGEMENT:

Parent/Guardian(s) will notify their school secretary of any cases of head lice at home. If the student has siblings, the parent will diligently check siblings for lice and nits. Then treat appropriately. If a teacher suspects head lice, they may send them to the health room to be checked. The teacher should remain very discreet in order to protect the student’s privacy. If a student suspects or feel they might have lice, they may be checked at any time with teacher’s guidance, so not to disrupt the learning day.

The school secretary, office manager and/or district trained staff will notify a district nurse when a suspected case of lice is reported. The district nurse or secretary will perform the initial exam based on availability.

At initial discovery that the student has live lice or nits at school:

Parent/Guardian(s) will be notified by phone. The parent/guardian(s) may choose whether to have their student stay at school or picked up before the end of the school day. b) Students will be allowed to continue to attend the rest of the school day. c) A Lice Notification Letter will be sent home to the student’s whole class in order to protect privacy.

The following should be communicated with parent/guardian(s) during the notification: a) They must check their student into the office (next school day) following their treatment of choice before attending class. b) Stay at school while their student is being checked. c) It is recommended that all household members be checked.

That night, the student should be treated. The parent/guardian(s) will need to treat their student until no live lice are visible before they can return to school and attend class.

A parent/guardian(s) must accompany their student when they return to school after being treated. The student will be checked by district nurse and/or secretary for the presence of live lice before attending class.

If there are no live lice the student may stay in school even if nits are still present. Encourage combing for the next 3-4 weeks for nits. Educate family to follow the guidelines on their treatment of choice.

If live, slow moving, non-retreating lice are found the student must go home immediately with parent/guardian(s) for combing for lice and nits. District nurse should educate on not retreating with another treatment, but combing the live lice out with a “toothed nit comb” (CDC, 2015).

If the lice appear to be very active and no apparent change after treatment, student must go home immediately with their parent/guardian(s). District nurse should recommend the parent/guardian(s) to their healthcare provider because a different treatment might be indicated. (CDC, 2015).

The nurse or secretary will keep a record of incidences on the Head Lice Log.The log will be kept in a locked secure location to protect student’s privacy. This log should be shredded at the end of the year.

Education is the key to prevention. It is recommended that the parent/guardian(s) contact their student’s healthcare provider for guidance on what product to use to treat the lice if they are unsure. There are many different products available and their provider could guide them on the proper product depending on the cases they have seen in the area. (AAP, e1361, May 2015)

In 7-10 days the nurse or secretary may check for any evidence of re-infestation and to make sure no live lice are present.

Students with lice should not be identified to other students or staff, except district staff that will provide re-checks for re-entry into school.

Revised 05/16