Metro East Illinois School Lice Policy

It is up to each school district to formulate its own lice policy. Some schools have moved toward more lenient policies permitting student with nits and even lice to remain in schools. Other districts have elected to maintain absolute "no nit" policies.

Alton School District

Alton schools have a "no nit" policy in place. Children with lice eggs will be sent home to be treated. "Head lice is a common communicable problem at school. Please check your child’s head frequently for head lice. If you see any lice or nits(eggs) please keep your child home and notify the school. When a child is sent home from school with head lice or nits, after treatment is complete, it is the parent’s responsibility to bring the child to the school nurse for re-entry. The school nurse must check their head before allowed re-entry.Alton Community School District has a no nit policy!" More information:  lj.altonschools.org

Belleville Zion School

This school also retains its "no nit" policy. "Lice Policy The school will take these steps whenever a case is found:

1. If a student is detected with lice while at school, he/she will be sent home. All classroom parents will be informed that there has been a case of lice detected in their child’s classroom.
2. The following day, the Principal or secretary will check all students in that classroom for additional cases. Siblings of the infected child will also be checked. If there are more than two cases of lice in a classroom, or more than one classroom involved with lice, the whole school will be checked by a nurse or capable person. Any child found with lice will be sent home.
3. The following day the Principal or secretary will check children or classes for any remaining nits (eggs). A child must be free of any nits before he/she will be allowed to return to school.
4. If there are no nits or lice, the student may return to school. If however, lice or nits are found, the student must return home repeat removal procedures until the student returns to school lice free."

More information: zionschoolbelleville.org

Centralia School District

Centralia schools, like aforementioned schools, maintains a "no nit " lice policy. "HEAD LICE: Students found to have live head lice/eggs will be sent home with instructions for treatment with an anti-lice product. Additional guidelines from the Illinois Dept. of Public Health for cleaning clothing and the home to prevent further infestation will be supplied to the student by the Health Office. Students are not allowed to return to school until there are no lice or nits found on the head.

A recheck of the student will be done by the school nurse before your child is allowed to return to school. Excessive absences due to failure to appropriately treat symptoms will be considered “unexcused” and subject to disciplinary action."

More information:  www.centraliahs.org

Edwardsville Schools

"Regular school attendance is expected. However, if your child is ill, he or she should not be permitted to attend school. Please do not send your child to school if: a suspicious skin rash or other contagious condition is evident. The school should be notified if your child has a contagious disease including: chicken pox, pink-eye, impetigo, and pediculosis (head lice)."

More information:  www.ecusd7.org

Jerseyville Schools

"All cases of confirmed head lice will be addressed according to guidelines established by the Illinois Department of Public Health." Note the Department of Health does not set school lice policies. The site offers recommendations on follow-up should your family encounter lice.

More information:  www.jersey100.org

If you are in the Metro-East area of Illinois and discover head lice, call LiceDoctors for same day, in your home service. Call us at 618-307-0100. We provide a full guarantee!