Head lice. Photo via Wikimedia Commons/ public domain
A 300-signature petition asking for changes in Randall School’s lice policy was presented to the School Board Wednesday night.
The petition was in reaction to changes in the school’s policy for dealing with head lice. The new policy does not call for children to be sent home immediately upon detection of lice and allowed them to return earlier than in the past.
Resident Valerie Lass presented the petition and read a prepared statement.
“Not removing a student from a classroom for having lice or notifying parents of lice in their child’s classroom effects everybody in some way shape or form eventually,” Lass said. ” … Removing the student for immediate treatment will eliminate students, teachers and families from contracting and paying for lice removal. By eliminating the lice immediately attendance will hardly be affected.”
The petition called for the board to make the following changes to the lice policy:
- Include at least three school-wide lice checks per year.
- Immediate removal of any student who has nits or lice in their hair from Randall School that day.
- The student may not return until all lice or nits have been removed from the students with proof of medication used.
Three other residents also spoke during citizens comments at the meeting, all calling for changes in the policy.
“We will discuss it,” board member Jan Iselin said during board comments. She also thanked the public for attending.
The board’s new policy, adopted last month, incorporates Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendation not to keep children who have been treated for lice out of school until they are free of nits or lice eggs.
