LICE TIPS

Students in this district are prevented from attending school if they have live lice or more than 20 nits. Otherwise, they are permitted in school.

Minneapolis and surrounding areas are fairly consistent in their approach to head lice management; most schools in the area have adopted “no live lice” policies.

Fairfield-Suisan schools have dropped their "no nit" school lice policy now allowing students with nits to re-enter school with the expectation that they are receiving treatment at home.

Including Orlando and Surrounding Areas Effective 2011, Schools in Orange and Volusia Counties dropped their “no nit” policies and announced that they will no longer check students for head lice.

The National Pediculosis Association recommends a stringent “nit-free” policy for children returning to school after a lice infestation, according to its Web site. The association says that because head lice are becoming resistant to insecticide shampoos. It’s important to remove any remaining nits with a special fine-toothed comb before letting a child return to school.

Students with live lice are sent home from school, while those with nits are allowed to remain in school. The basic Sarasota Schools lice policy is that students with live lice are sent home from school, while those with nits are allowed to remain in school as long as they continue to receive treatment at home to eradicate the nits.

Schools in Port St. Lucie have a "no nit" policy, which means that if a child has lice eggs he or she will be sent home from school.

Some schools in Bergen County and Hudson County allow students to return to school with nits after they have been treated, while others have “no nit” policies. Key medical organizations have recommended that students be allowed to return with lice eggs because they were missing too much school for a condition that these organizations consider to be a nuisance but not a health hazard.

In the Pittsburgh, PA area there is variety in the head lice policy among schools. While many schools leave the policy decision to the school principal, the Pittsburgh Public Schools Early Childhood Education Center has a "no nits policy" calling for children with head lice to be removed from school.

Many districts in the Grand Rapids, Michigan vicinity retain "no nit" school lice policies, a policy that prevents students from returning to school until their heads are clear of eggs. despite the state and national standards that discourage the practice as overly penal. The Michigan Association of School Nurses also recommends against a no nit policy.