Should kids with lice be sent home from school? The Thames Valley school board doesn't think so

Just thinking about lice is enough to make most people scratch their heads.

So, what do you think about kids staying in class even if they're found to have the creepy-crawliesin their hair?

The Thames Valley District School Board (TVDSB) is proposing a new policy that would allow students with head lice to stay in school instead of being sent home.

Head lice are anuisance but not a threat to health, and there's no medical evidence to exclude students from class or school if they're found with the critters, the school board says.

The board has posted the draft policy for public input on its website.

• Click here to read the draft document

The school board has worked closely with the Middlesex London Health Unit and Southwestern Public Health to come up with the suggested procedureand treatment plan, saidChristine Giannacopoulos, acting superintendent of student achievement.

"There is no reason for students to be removed from an educational setting for lengthy period of time," she said.

Under the current policy, kids with head lice are sent home from school and readmitted once treatment has been administered and there is no evidence of lice or nits.

The draft plan is under a 60-day public input period that ends in May. If approved, it could be enacted by September.

Treatment checklist

The new plan suggests a shared approach toward tackling the spread ofhead lice.

Once it's identified that a child is infected, a school administrator orteacher would beresponsible for contacting parents orguardians. According to the plan, the student wouldthen be sent home with educational information and a treatment plan checklist to be completed and sent back with the student thenext day.

Thechecklist:

A letter wouldbe sent home with other kidsin the class,alerting parents of the incident and encouraging them to check for lice.

For the followingfew days, a classroom teacher would bemandated to ensure lessons and activities avoid head-to-head contact.The situation would be monitoreduntil it's under controlin order to avoid the spread of the critter.

"If you take precaution, then the spread is limited," said Giannacopoulos.

School administratorscan choose to follow upand physically check the infected student for lice, butGiannacopoulos said officials are relying on parents and guardians to follow the plan.

Concerns

Some local lice experts said there should be more education tosupport the plan

Caroline Bonham, director of services at Lice Squad London, a head-lice removal service,said schools should enforce rules that would proactively haltthe spread of head lice. For example, students with long hair should wear ponytails or braids, she said.

"If the school is not working to identify it and help parents get rid of it and teach children how it's prevented then it will be on the increase," she said.

Bonham said some store-bought treatments only temporarilytreatlice. She said different treatment methods should be discussed with parents.

Melissa Charron-Nutt, who's the founder of Lice Nerd, is a champion of the combing method, which she said needs to be clearly spelled out in the plan. "You have skills or tools to be able to fight head lice," she said.

The school board suggestschemical-based and combing treatments, among others.

Spread to teachers?

Meanwhile, Craig Smith, president of the Thames Valley teachers' local with the Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario, said teachers themselves could be at a greater risk of getting infected, should the proposed new policypass.

"That is a problem as well it may become a human resources issue with teachers who now have it," he said.

If the new policy goes ahead, schools need to monitor the fallout closely, Smith said.

"I think it's going to be in the schools. There's going to be more of it. And it's just going to be part of the routine of the school. Unfortunately, an itchy one."

The public has until May to submit online feedback.

The York Catholic District School Board and Hastings And Prince Edward District School Board have already adapted a similarplan across their schools.