Anonymous wrote:

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.

It's easy to be dismissive when you have boys (or ugly girls). Beautiful hair is rare. I don't need to know who CONTAMINANT X is, but it's not unreasonable for you (as a school) to let me know that my friendly little child is rubbing up against a child with lice. I don't need to know who the lousy chlid is, but the heads-up means quite a lot.

With a parent like you, I doubt your child is as pretty as you think.

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.

It's easy to be dismissive when you have boys (or ugly girls). Beautiful hair is rare. I don't need to know who CONTAMINANT X is, but it's not unreasonable for you (as a school) to let me know that my friendly little child is rubbing up against a child with lice. I don't need to know who the lousy chlid is, but the heads-up means quite a lot.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The policy in Fairfax is that the child simply has to show it's being treated. A parent can send in the box top from the treatment shampoo.

http://www.fcps.edu/dss/osp/healthservices/HeadLice.shtml

Toxic treatments are not necessary and do more Harm than good to children. I appreciate that change in policy but requiring use of a toxic treatment when it is not necessary is not good policy either.

The policy says "should" be given, not "must" be given. The only requirement is a consultation with a pediatrician or nurse. The implication is that you would follow the advice he/she gave, but it's not necessary, especially if he/she insists on exposing DC to toxins.

Can someone link to the new dcps lice policy I cannot find it on the dcps website.

Tia

In DC, contact your city council member - DC Council is who passed the law.

DCPS not only doesn't send children home anymore for lice but because the fact that school nurses are contracted out - the nurses do not have to perform lice checks on whole classes. They will inspect a child if a parent requested. Additionally, we don't have a nurse about 1/3 of the time so there is no one to monitor these things. And yes, we've done parent lice checks in the past but so far we aren't being "allowed".

So, you have lice in most of the grades, the inability to send kids home, no nurse to check the kids, no parents allowed to come in and spotty communication going home to the parents. If you know a child has lice in one of your kids classrooms you can take precautions. And no, lice isn't dangerous but it is extremely time consuming to eliminate. And don't we all have better things to do?

Anonymous wrote:The policy in Fairfax is that the child simply has to show it's being treated. A parent can send in the box top from the treatment shampoo.

http://www.fcps.edu/dss/osp/healthservices/HeadLice.shtml

Toxic treatments are not necessary and do more Harm than good to children. I appreciate that change in policy but requiring use of a toxic treatment when it is not necessary is not good policy either.

Anonymous wrote:My oldest is in 6th grade in Fairfax and we have luckily dodged the lice bullet so far (with younger siblings as well). So they must be doing something right.

Also in Ffx and this is the 2nd time one of my kids came home with lice in 3 years. Not a matter of where you live.

My oldest is in 6th grade in Fairfax and we have luckily dodged the lice bullet so far (with younger siblings as well). So they must be doing something right.

The policy in Fairfax is that the child simply has to show it's being treated. A parent can send in the box top from the treatment shampoo.

http://www.fcps.edu/dss/osp/healthservices/HeadLice.shtml

I dealt with lice successfully this august using only Pantene conditioner and a licemeister comb. Google them. Seriously, there is no need for toxic chemicals. There is a need for diligence.

Anonymous wrote:Not nits. That's the DCPS policy.

Not anymore.

We are SO glad to be done with the no lice policy for 2/4. Unfortunately one male child in a DCPS seems to get it all the time and puts other kids at risk. Don't know what he is doing - rolling around with other academically advanced lice filled kids? The itching stinks, but the solution is easy.

Only non toxic lice killer we have found is lice MD. There are claims by curandera types that if you submerge your head in beer and let it dry it will also kill the lice but I have never tried it. I have been tempted though. Store contaminated stuff in a plastic bag for at least 48 hours and all of them will die b/c they need human contact. THEN wash the stuff. Lice sucks, but lack of education when it is likely already all over the school is ridiculous. The first time our DCPS nurse claimed my oldest had lice it was dandruff, and she missed the last day of school anyway because you cannot fight the man........

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Right, no lice in Fairfax!
As a mom who has had lice herself, I disagree with the Slate article. It is no fun hearing the things crunch in your hair or feeling the itchy bites. However, I think a lot of the advice you get is dead wrong. For example you do not need to disinfect your entire house or wash every bit of linens or store stuffed animals in bags for weeks. Or go to the nit lady. Or spend hours combing every last night out of your kid's hair. You just need to treat a couple times, do some combing, and keep checking for a couple weeks to make sure you got them all.