The Near North District School Board is one of a number of boards across the province that may be reviewing their guidelines around lice protocol in schools.
The North East District School Board which includes schools in Timmins all the way down to Temagami, has reviewed its policy on on pediculosis or head lice as many other school boards in Ontario have been doing since the Canadian Pediatric Society issued a report saying head lice are not a public health risk and children should not be kept away from school as it disrupts their learning.
The North East Board recently voted to retain its policy because even though head lice do not pose a health risk, they still do create a nuisance.
“The medical profession says lice don't leap off the head of a child,” said North East District Chair Doug Shearer to TimminsToday.com.
“But we know that they do spread and we can’t allow other families to have this nuisance if it we don’t restrict it.”
Near North Chair David Thompson says he has discussed this issue recently with his Northern colleague.
“At the Near North Board, Senior Administration have not had these discussions,” said Thompson in a message to BayToday.ca this morning.
“Our Director of Education Jackie Young is at a Conference this week and is connecting with Boards that have had discussions. Based on those discussions will determine on whether we will look at our own guidelines.”
The District School Boards in consultation with the local Health Unit have jointly initiated this policy to deal with occurrences of head lice.
If a case is verified:
1) The Principal is notified
2) The child is excluded from school until treatment is started and nits are removed.
3) The parent should obtain an appropriate treatment from the pharmacy.
A parent needs to consult a physician about appropriate treatment for: anyone with seizure disorders, children under 2, lice in eyebrows, eyelashes or beard, broken or infected skin/scalp, anyone who is pregnant or breast feeding.
4) The parent should follow through on these recommendations quickly and effectively.
5) A note will go home with the class letting families know to check children’s hair.
Shearer said the North East board also has concerns about the spread to other students and the impact the nuisance may have on their families.
“As a board, we have taken note of that,” he said.
“It is not fair for other families to have to deal with this if we don’t deal with it as a board.”
In districts where the school board has voted to allow students with head lice to attend class there has been a backlash from parent groups.
One report posted on CBC.ca tells of parents in Belleville who oppose the local school board's decision to allow students with head lice to attend classes - they have created a Facebook group called Stop the New Head Lice Protocol.
