Schools Consider Lice Policy Update

By Noelle Kronberg
EAGLE TIMES EDUCATION REPORTER
A tiny foe is getting major attention from the Claremont School Board.

During its Wednesday meeting, the board discussed changing the district’s policy on head lice, which contradicts advice from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Association of School Nurses and New Hampshire School Board Association. 

Under the current policy, which was approved in 2018, routine screenings occur at all elementary schools and families are notified if lice is found in their child’s classroom. The guardians of a child with lice are called, and in recurring cases, children who have lice may be sent home.

The policy was approved in 2018, and former board member Steven Horsky, urged the board to leave the current policy unchanged. 

Head lice feed on blood from the scalp and the female louse lays eggs, or nits, that stick to hair shafts, according to the Mayo Clinic.

“Having head lice isn’t a sign of poor personal hygiene or an unclean living environment. Head lice don’t carry bacterial or viral diseases,” the Mayo Clinic advises. 

Both the CDC and the American Academy of Pediatrics have found that head lice pose no health risk and see no-nit policies as disruptive to education.

Both nonprescription and prescription remedies can help treat head lice and the Mayo Clinic advises parents to follow treatment instructions carefully to rid the scalp and hair of lice and their eggs.

The board’s policy sub-committee recommends updating the district’s policy to eliminate the requirement for screenings, broadcast notifications and sending students home. This led to much debate among the board.

“While it is not a health concern, it is a nuisance,” said Board Member Bonnie Miles.

Several members also acknowledged the financial burden it can put on families as they seek treatment.

In his statement, Horksy recalled a time prior to the 2018 policy when cases of head lice were “out of control” in the elementary schools. He spoke to the physical, emotional and financial burden of repeatedly having to treat his family and their belongings. He claimed that after the policy was adopted, the infestations dropped.

School Board Chair Heather Whitney said teachers have said repeated cases of lice, without sending children home or notifying families, becomes a disruption to education. Teachers, she said, noted that students who have lice are aware of the issue and physically uncomfortable.

The board opted to amend the policy and will conduct a second reading and further discussion.

Whitney’s amendment steers clear of a “no-nit” policy in favor of a “no live lice” policy. School nurses will check students showing signs of lice and children found to have live lice will be sent home for treatment, and will be checked again upon return to school. She also recommended that the policy include retreatment 10 days after their return and a recheck.

Whitney likened this policy to the prior COVID policies, in which schools did temperature checks, sent symptomatic children home and notified families. Ultimately, all board members were in agreement that the stigma around head lice needs to change, as it can affect any home, regardless of status or cleanliness.

The policy will move forward to a second read and potential vote, along with an updated immunization policy and the school handbooks, later this summer.