LICE TIPS

Baltimore children can get lice on the school bus. Baltimore County schools dropped their “no nit” policy in 2012 and the policy has been revised as follows: "The Health Department has changed its head lice policy from “No Nit” to “No Live Lice”, based on recommendations from the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the National Association of School Nurses.

Kansas City Head Lice Policies Vary By District Statewide policy in Missouri no longer requires school nurses to check every student for lice and children with nits or lice are not sent home from school.

Several Fairfield County schools have loosened their criteria regarding admission to school. Some schools have a somewhat ambiguous policy, relying heavily on the nurse’s discretion.

The Miami-Dade School Board policy remains as it has been for years and states: “Any student found having head lice should be excluded from school until they are free of lice and have no nits.” According to the Miami-Dade schools' web site, "Recently, there has been a significant rise in the incidence of pediculosis capitis (head lice).

In 2013, Austin Schools Department of Comprehensive Health Services updated its school lice policy based on on recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics. The schools allow students to attend with nits and allow students identified with live lice to remain in school until the end of the school day in an effort to reduce school absenteeism.

Old Bridge schools send home an information packet on how to deal with head lice in order to educate parents. If a child in the class is determined to have lice, then a letter is is sent home to the parents of the other children.

The Erie county department of health has on its web site a description of head lice and a simple, general statement that a child may return to school following treatment. It is up to each school district to determine its own head lice policy.

Each district in Essex County is responsible for devising its own school lice policy. Some districts retain "no nit" policies in which students with eggs in their hair may not return to school until all of the nits are removed. Many other districts, in keeping with recommendations from key medical associations, have modified their school head lice policies and now allow students with nits to enter school.

Many schools in the Charlottesville area have dropped their “no nit” policies and now allow students to attend school even if they have nits.

Each school district in North Carolina is responsible for establishing its own head lice policy. Some districts maintain "no nit" policies which prevent students from entering school if they have any lice eggs remaining in their hair. Other schools are more lenient and allow students with some live lice to stay in school.