Lice are pretty resistant to the harsh chemical drug-store treatments and the nits aren't affected at all so you have to comb or there's no point. Still, our our school requires that we use the treatments and bring in the packaging as proof. Of course that depends on people actually reporting that they have it in the first place which a lot of people don't.

Anonymous wrote:My gripe is parents who refuse to treat lice properly and then the rest of us have to deal with it. We have several repeat offenders in our school. They say they don't want to use harsh chemicals on their kids.....

Treatment does not require harsh chemicals, it does require diligence and a good comb. I am not saying you do not have to kill the live lice, I am saying that a better route is treatment that kills the live lice, and repeated combing and removal of nits. Our DCPS has a no nits policy and all children in the school are inspected after they return from a break and anyone found to have lice cannot return until they pass inspection by the school nurse for any nits. It is a total pain to remove all nits, but if they are gone the lice do not return. I once spent the better part of a weekend combing for nits and cutting them out of my DD's hair after a non-toxic treatment to kill the live lice. There was no spread and there was no return of the lice.

My gripe is parents who refuse to treat lice properly and then the rest of us have to deal with it. We have several repeat offenders in our school. They say they don't want to use harsh chemicals on their kids.....

at our child elementary school (DCPS), if a child is found to have head lice, the child is sent home immediately, and all parents in the child's class are informed the same day that in the class there was a case of head lice. we usually get a paper, I think once we got an e-mail. parents of kids in other classes are not informed

OP here. Sorry I phrased my question poorly. I didn't mean how literally the classrooms were treated for lice, but what kind of notification process there was to inform other families at the school. We had an outbreak at our school which I was surprised t find out about only after the fact and only from another parent in casual conversation.

check out licehappens.com
there are a lot of old wives tales out there regarding lice

Biggest culprits actually are shared computer headphones.

Wow, how ignorant on all fronts! If this happens more than every couple years, well, you're looking at a systemic problem. Get those carpets, bean bags, wall hangings and other fabrics into quarantine. About a week out in the cold will do. If it's the same child, then get uncle Freddy's barber shop inspected.
The health department has clear policies on lice in schools. Go call them, ask, and make sure the prescribed measures are taken. I'm sure they also have clear guidelines what steps to take in regards to information.
The one time our school had an issue, information was first targeted to those affected - with the school nurse inspecting everybody's hair in that classroom - and then brought to the school community when more classrooms were found to be infected. Students were sent home and could only return with a doctor's note. Meanwhile the nurse did regular inspections of all students and staff. But of course that doesn't do the trick if lice at any stage in their life cycle persist in carpets and other fabrics only waiting to jump on the next victim.

We usually, but not always, get letters every couple of weeks in the class in which it happens. I have two kids, so we get the letters several times a year. Our school has been having lice outbreaks continuously since the summer before last. It just keeps getting passed around. Part of the current problem is that it is in AA hair now and I think a lot of parents don't realize that is could be lice in AA hair.

If your school has had a lice infestation, how did the administrators handle it? Were there school-wide announcements? Thanks.