Lice

Any student or staff who have live head lice OR viable nits close to the scalp visualized by the school nurse or other trained designee, will be referred for treatment at the end of the school day. Prompt treatment at home will be advised, including removal of live lice and viable nits. Immediate removal of the person from school is unnecessary. If the person has lice, he or she has probably been infested for weeks and prompt removal of the person could lead to embarrassment and ridicule. Following treatment, the person will be rechecked before returning to the classroom. If no live lice are found, the student may be readmitted to the classroom with a note from the school nurse. If live lice are found, the student must return home for further treatment. If nits are found on the hair shaft greater than ½” from the scalp, they are no longer alive and should be picked/combed out with a nit comb but they will not develop into live lice. 

If ANY nits are found, either at the time of initial or return assessment, the person will be rechecked in one week or at the discretion of the school Nurse or Health Services Supervisor after the individualized assessment of the person. The parent/guardian will be advised to continue to remove the nits. Persons with nits will be monitored and NOT be referred for further treatment at this time. 

The student will be placed on a screening schedule if nits are found: 3 times a week for two weeks, 2 times a week for one week and once a week after that at the discretion of the School Nurse or Health Services Supervisor. Siblings, who are felt to be in close contact with a person with live lice will be inspected for infestation and referred appropriately. If there is/are sibling/s in another school, the original nurse will notify the school nurse of that school to inspect the sibling/s for a possible infestation. 

Persons outside the immediate situation will not be informed or involved, such as other parents, staff members, bus drivers/assistants or cafeteria staff. This is to prevent embarrassment and protect privacy and confidentiality. 

The School Nurse or Health Services Supervisor retain the authorization to, at her discretion, exclude a student with repeated infestations of live lice/nits or with a current active infestation for which there is an apparent lack of adequate follow through by the parents/guardians.  
If you have any questions in regards to any of these policies, feel free to contact the school nurse in your child’s school or the Health Services Supervisor for Portsmouth Public Schools at 393-8661 
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