PV trustees to consider changes to head lice policy

WATSONVILLE — The Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees Wednesday will mull changes to how the district deals with head lice infestations.

The issue was before the trustees at the Oct. 10 meeting, but was tabled to give Assistant Superintendent of Elementary Education Ylda Nogueda time to review the proposed policy.

Under the new policy, schools would no longer regularly monitor students for head lice, and children found with lice or louse eggs in their hair would be allowed to remain at school.

Traditionally, the district regularly monitored students for head lice, performing “nit checks” and sending infested students home with information for parents about how to treat their child.

But under a policy adopted in September by the California Department of Public Health, such “no-nit” policies are based on misinformation, do nothing to prevent or shorten outbreaks and should be discontinued.

Instead, the Department of Public Health recommends early prevention policies and “no-lice” policies, which rely on parents and caregivers to regularly do the checks.

The new policy allows school principals to decide whether to notify families if a child is found with head lice.

School employees would be encouraged to report suspected cases, but students known to be infected with head lice would stay in school for the rest of the day.

If no lice are detected upon their return the next day, they would be allowed to return.



For the complete article see the 10-23-2012 issue.

Click here to purchase an electronic version of the 10-23-2012 paper.

Share on Facebook