School Lice Policy Is Ineffective, Taylor Mom Says

ZEPHYRHILLS - The first time Melissa Johnson's daughter came home from school with head lice, she figured this was just a normal childhood occurrence.

Johnson treated her daughter and her home and assumed that was that.

Then her daughter, a student at Taylor Elementary, came home with lice again.

And again.

And again.

So far this school year, Johnson said, she has had to treat her daughter eight times, spending about $70 each time.

"It's ridiculous," she said.

Johnson said part of the problem is the Pasco County School District's policy on head lice, which she said she thinks isn't proactive enough and places too much faith in parents doing the right thing.

Pasco stopped conducting routine lice checks in 1999, saying they were ineffective and subjected children to taunting and teasing. The district instead decided to focus on education, prevention and dealing with problems individually.

"As a parent, it's your responsibility to check your own child," said Lizette Alexander, the district's director of student services.

The district's policy is in line with an American Academy of Pediatrics recommendation in 2002. The academy said head-lice-screening programs in schools "do not have a significant effect on the incidence of head lice."

The academy's recommendation also said children with head lice should remain in class, "but be discouraged from close direct head contact with others."

When lice is discovered on a Pasco student, the school sends a letter home to the child's parents to let them know they need to treat the child for lice. Often, letters go home to other parents of students in the classroom to let them know they should check their children, too, said Kelly McCullough, an advanced registered nurse practitioner with the district.

McCullough said lice can become a problem anywhere children come in close contact with one another.

"It's a very, very common childhood issue," McCullough said.

Children can return to the classroom as long as no live lice are visible, she said.

McCullough said she has discussed the lice issue with Taylor Elementary's principal and school nurse.

"They are not aware of it being an epidemic at the school," she said. "It did not seem out of the ordinary."

The school is doing additional education with the faculty, McCullough said.

The American Academy of Pediatrics reports that chemical treatments for head lice come in a variety of forms, such as shampoo, cream rinse, gel and mousse. Those treatments kill the lice, but don't always kill all the eggs.

Because of that, the parent then needs to comb out the nits. To prevent the lice from spreading, the child's clothes, towels, hats and bed linens should be washed in hot water and dried on high heat. Combs and brushes should be soaked in boiling water for five to 10 minutes.

The parents also should vacuum furniture, carpet, car seats and fabrics the child was in contact within a day or two before the treatment.

Johnson said relying on the parents to check their children doesn't work too well.

"If we lived in a society where parents do that, that would be wonderful," she said. "But they don't."

Johnson said she has talked to the principal, assistant principal and school nurse, as well as a district official, in an effort to address the problem.

Johnson would like to see a policy change that would, at the least, allow for checking all the children in a classroom if a case of head lice surfaces.

She also doesn't buy the argument that the checks are embarrassing.

"We all had it done when we were kids," Johnson said. "We didn't have epidemics because they did check everyone's head."

HOW TO CHECK FOR HEAD LICE

•Seat your child in a brightly lit room, in an area where you can easily examine the head from different angles.

•Part the hair and look at your child's scalp. Nits will look like small white or yellow-brown specks. They will be firmly attached to the hair. Nits may be easier to see at the hairline at the back of the neck or behind the ears. Live lice will move quickly away from the light.

•Comb your child's hair in small sections using a fine-tooth comb. After each comb-through, wipe the comb on a wet paper towel. Examine the scalp, comb and paper towel carefully.

Source: American Academy of Pediatrics