Northbrook School District 27

Lice Information

If a case of lice is found or reported, the following guidelines are to be followed:

  1. The school nurse checks the child who has been reported to have a lice infestation.
  2. If the infestation is found to be ACTIVE (i.e., a live nit or clusters of nits within one-quarter inch of the scalp), a parent/guardian will be notified and referred to the student’s primary healthcare provider for treatment options.
  3. Mass classroom notification(s) of a case of lice will not be provided unless 10% of a classroom is affected.
  4. The school nurse will not endorse any treatment options for lice.
  5. The student may remain at school for the remainder of the day in an effort to not disrupt the educational process.
  6. The student may return to school after appropriate treatment as recommended by the student's primary healthcare provider.
  7. The student may be checked for lice by the school nurse if requested by the student, teacher, or parent/guardian.
  8. The school nurse will receive written consent from the parent/guardian prior to any lice examinations.
  9. The custodian will be notified to disinfect the room at the end of the school day. The custodian will use a disinfectant to wash down the surfaces in the classroom, vacuum, and dust. 
  10. Rugs, beanbags, pillows, etc. will be removed from the classroom and placed in a sealed plastic bag for at least 2 weeks.
  11. Special area classrooms will also be disinfected.
  12. The nurse will continue to work directly with the parents of the affected student to ensure that the student has had treatment and to be of assistance in any way that is practical. 

General Information

  1. Mass screening of the entire classroom will not be performed.  Research has demonstrated that mass screenings are not effective and are highly subject to error and over-diagnosis.
  2. Student and parent education will be provided by the school nurse or the District 27 Lead Nurse.
  3. Head lice rarely (if ever) cause direct harm, and they are not known to transmit infectious agents from person-to-person and they should not be considered as a medical or public health problem.
  4. Head lice do not jump or fly, they crawl. Transmission in most cases occurs by direct contact with the head of another infested individual. Indirect spread through contact with personal belongings of an infested individual (combs, brushes, hats, scarves, coats), and/or by lying on a bed, couch, pillow, carpet, or stuffed animal that has recently been in contact with an infested person. Remember that the infestation must be active for this contact to be problematic. 
  5. Lice cannot live off a human host for more than 24 hours.