lice policy

[Anonymous]

Would you please share your school's lice policy? We have an infestation at our school and we are being told it is DCPS policy not to send kids home and to inspect only children exhibiting symptoms (when it is obviously too late). Is this true DCPS-wide? Our school seems to be taking a pretty defeatist approach and it is discouraging. Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Count Day is approaching!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Would you please share your school's lice policy? We have an infestation at our school and we are being told it is DCPS policy not to send kids home and to inspect only children exhibiting symptoms (when it is obviously too late). Is this true DCPS-wide? Our school seems to be taking a pretty defeatist approach and it is discouraging. Thanks.

This comes up every year, do a search and you'll see the threads. American Association of Pediatric policy guidance matches what you stated was DCPS policy.

http://www.aap.org/en-us/about-the-aap/aap-press-room/Pages/AAP-Offers-Updated-Guidance-on-Treating-Head-Lice.aspx

If you have evidence as to why AAP's policy guidance is flawed, please tell us. Just because you think the school should do what was done what you were a child is not evidence or a valid reason.

[Anonymous]

Oh joy. Another lice thread

[Anonymous]

Our school has lice checks after every major school break. Teams of parents do the checking. The nurse checks every suspicious child and calls parents if lice are found. Once lice are found the child cannot go back to class until the child has "no nits"

My kids love the lice checks, they say it is like head massage.

[Anonymous]

Hmm. Our preschool has lice it was announced today. Must be going around.

[Anonymous]

Not nits. That's the DCPS policy.

[Anonymous]

Head lice are not a health hazard or a sign of poor hygiene and, in contrast to body lice, are not responsible for the spread of any disease. No healthy child should be excluded from or miss school because of head lice, and no-nit policies for return to school should be abandoned. - See more at: http://www.aap.org/en-us/about-the-aap/aap-press-room/Pages/AAP-Offers-Updated-Guidance-on-Treating-Head-Lice.aspx#sthash.2OkajFX2.dpuf

Lice seems like a big deal, but I assure you it isn't. You don't have to pay for a lice remediation service, you don't have to sanitize your entire house, and by the time your kid has lice crawling around in their hair, they've already passed it on to their classmates.

If a kid gets lice, they get sent home for that day, and treated. that's it. no need for further policies.

[Anonymous]

Also see this piece from Slate last spring: http://www.slate.com/articles/life/family/2014/03/lice_in_school_let_em_stay.html

[Anonymous]

Haven't been around long enough to see other lice threads so this was helpful to me. Thanks for sharing the links! -np

[Anonymous]

DCPS policy has changed. It is no longer "no nits."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Also see this piece from Slate last spring: http://www.slate.com/articles/life/family/2014/03/lice_in_school_let_em_stay.html

This makes my blood boil. How irresponsible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also see this piece from Slate last spring: http://www.slate.com/articles/life/family/2014/03/lice_in_school_let_em_stay.html

This makes my blood boil. How irresponsible.

What part is irresponsible? What facts from the AAP do you dispute or are you outraged by the crazy no-nit lady who think lice themselves are the communicable disease?

[Anonymous]

Ugh. I feel itchy just reading that article. So glad we live in Fairfax.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ugh. I feel itchy just reading that article. So glad we live in Fairfax.

Right, because thinking about lice makes you feel itchy, that means schools should take kids out of school. That's top notch policy making.

"No-nit policies don’t make any medical or scientific sense”

“If you find live lice during the school day, it’s likely that child has had lice for weeks,”

“Allowing that child to remain in the classroom for a few more hours is not putting children at risk.”

Those are quotes from doctors and nurses who have analyzed all of these issues, a lot more than I ever have or will. I'll go with them rather than what makes me feel itchy.