COAL TOWNSHIP - Shamokin Area ditched its "no nit" policy when it comes to head lice, and will implement a process that could protect students from being picked on if the bug does find a home in their hair.
Under revised policy adopted last week, students found to have "nits," or lice eggs, will not be forced to miss any time in class.
Most nits are 1/4 inch from the scalp and unlikely to hatch, and may even be empty, and also are stuck so tightly to hair shafts that they are unlikely to spread to others, according to the district's revised policy.
There's one thing left unchanged: if live lice are found on a student's head, they will not be permitted to return to the classroom until the bugs are killed.
The move comes on the recommendation of the Center for Disease control, American Academy of Pediatrics and National Association of School Nurses and is based on medical research.
The latter two organizations say the spread of lice from nits is "very unlikely" and that "the burden of unnecessary absenteeism to the students, families and communities far outweighs the risks associated with head lice," according to the district's revised policy.
An over-the-counter or prescription treatment is necessary to kill lice and nits. Combing of hair more than once daily helps rid a head of dead nits over period of a week or two.
Terry Snyder, Shamokin Area's head nurse, said there's been no increase in lice incidents at the school district this year; rather, the change came about from a state Department of Health email regarding lice research and recommendations.
"What they're recognizing is that kids need to be in school. If it doesn't pose a threat, then that's where they need to be," she said.
Snyder said it's important to prevent a student from being stigmatized if they are diagnosed with head lice, and the recommendations from the aforementioned agencies say the same.
Years ago the belief was that someone would only contract lice if they were dirty or came from a dirty home. That's not true.
District policy stresses what research has found: neither personal hygiene nor home cleanliness have anything to do with the spread of head lice.
"When we have a student here who gets it, we make sure that we relate that head lice are equal opportunity bugs. They like everybody's hair," Snyder said.
Instead of sending a student home early from school, if they are found to have head lice they will be permitted to stick out the day. However, steps will be taken to prevent the student from having close or direct head contact with others.
Parents will be informed of the diagnosis and treatment options.
Siblings and others with close contact to an infected student will be examined.
Keeping their possessions separate from others won't be necessary. According to the policy, separating coats and backpacks has been disproved as a preventative measure because healthy lice don't stray from the head.
Upon return, the infected student will be checked daily at the start of school. Those checks will stop once all signs of lice and nits are gone.