Albany and Corvallis School Head Lice Policies

Schools in Albany and Corvallis follow the recommendations of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the National Association of School Nurses (NASN) and do not have a “no nit” school” lice policy. If your child has head lice, he or she will be allowed to attend school.

Albany

Schools in Albany follow the recommendations of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the National Association of School Nurses (NASN) and do not have a “no nit” school” lice policy.

“Students diagnosed with live head lice do not need to be sent home early from school; they can go home at the end of the day, be treated, and return to class after appropriate treatment has begun. Nits may persist after treatment, but successful treatment should kill crawling lice.

Head lice can be a nuisance but they have not been shown to spread disease. Personal hygiene or cleanliness in the home or school has nothing to do with getting head lice.

Both the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the National Association of School Nurses (NASN) advocate that “no-nit” policies should be discontinued. “No-nit” policies that require a child to be free of nits before they can return to schools should be discontinued for the following reasons:

• Many nits are more than ¼ inch from the scalp. Such nits are usually not viable and very unlikely to hatch to become crawling lice, or may in fact be empty shells, also known as ‘casings’.
• Nits are cemented to hair shafts and are very unlikely to be transferred successfully to other people.
• The burden of unnecessary absenteeism to the students, families and communities far outweighs the risks associated with head lice.
• Misdiagnosis of nits is very common during nit checks conducted by nonmedical personnel.”

Source: CDC Head Lice Information for Schools

Corvallis

Dealing with Head Lice

According to current research and management policies from the American Academy of Pediatrics and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, head lice are not considered a health hazard and not responsible for the spread of disease. Research also indicates that the normal classroom environment is not a high risk for the spread of lice.

If a student appears to have symptoms of having head lice, a private screening may be performed by the district nurse or trained staff member. If live head lice or nits are found, the student will be discouraged from close, direct head-to-head contact with others, but may remain in school.

• The student’s parent or guardian will be notified that prompt, effective treatment is necessary.
• The student will be allowed to return to school after being treated and there is no live lice found on inspection.
• It is unlikely that notice would be sent home to all the students in the classroom where an active case of lice is found, unless multiple students are infested. In such a case, parents will be encouraged to check their children for head lice for the next two weeks and treat appropriately.
• School officials will never disclose the name(s) of the affected student(s).

Source: Corvallis Health and Wellness

If you are an Albany/Corvallis area resident and have a child with lice, just call LiceDoctors at 541-632-4545 . A lice expert will come to your house and get rid of your childs lice, guaranteed.