When children are found to have lice in their hair, they are sent home from school immediately for treatment.

But that policy may be changing for Seymour Community School Corp.

School board trustees are reviewing a proposal by school nurse coordinator Sherry Reinhart to change the rule, allowing those students to stay in the classroom.

It’s an idea that would help prevent children from being bullied for having lice and would keep students from missing instructional time, Reinhart told trustees at their regular meeting on March 8.

“I’m asking you to think outside the box,” Reinhart said. “What we’ve done so far has not decreased the amount of kids out of school with lice. What we’re doing is not working, so let’s try to keep kids in class.”

But some parents say they are outraged by the plan and don’t want their children unnecessarily exposed.

Trustees plan to discuss and vote on the matter at the April 12 meeting.

Head lice are small, parasitic insects that live on the scalp and neck hairs of their human hosts. Itching is the most common symptom along with a tickling feeling or a sensation of something moving in the hair. Irritability and sleeplessness and sores on the head caused by scratching can also occur.

Lice do not jump or hop from one person to another and are only spread through very close head to head contact between students, Reinhart said.

Often, students have had lice up to a month before it is even detected, she added.

“Head lice can be a nuisance, but they have not been shown to spread disease; and personal hygiene or cleanliness has nothing to do with getting lice,” she said.

If the school district’s policy is changed, parents would still be notified immediately of the situation and could still pick up their child and take them home and treat them if they choose, Reinhart said.

Otherwise, parents will be advised to treat their child when they get home from school at the end of the day. When the student returns to school, they will be checked again and any remaining lice will be combed out before the student returns to class. The child will be checked each morning until no lice is present.

If a student is absent for more than two days due to lice, the school may request parental consent for the school nurse to treat them with lice shampoo.

The burden of unnecessary absenteeism to the students, families and communities far outweighs the risks associated with head lice, Reinhart said.

“I have seen so many kids that have been out for like two weeks at a time,” she said. “The parent comes and picks them up and then they go back to work, because they could lose their job. So many times the child is home by themselves and they don’t get treated.”

She also said by sending them home, those students with lice are labeled and they start to not like school.

The proposed change in the head lice policy is evidence-based and supported by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the National Association of School Nurses, Reinhart added.

Katie Covert of Seymour, the mother of two children in the school system, said she is against the idea.

“Not a good move,” she said. “If you don’t send them home to be treated, everyone will have lice.”

Another parent, Misti Findley, said by keeping students who have been identified with lice in the classroom, the problem will grow.

“It sounds like a good way to have large outbreaks of lice thus making it a lot harder to get rid of for those that have it and to prevent for those that don’t,” she said. “Seems pretty ridiculous.”

Another mother of students attending Seymour schools, Jamie Dickmeyer said the schools need to provide better communication with parents about what is going on.

“I think sending out newsletters notifying parents would be a great start, with helpful tips to prevent and to keep us on watch,” she said.

Although she thinks students with lice should be sent home, she doesn’t think that’s the case with bed bugs.

“You can bag their clothing and switch it out,” she said.

Reinhart said that is exactly what the school system is already doing when it comes to bed bugs.

“We do not send them home,” she said.

Unlike lice, bed bugs do not live on the human body and instead hide mainly near sleeping areas. Their bites can cause itching, pain and/or swelling of the skin where the bite occurs, but they do not transmit disease, Reinhart said.

Bed bug infestations in a school setting aren’t likely, but they can occasionally be brought into school buildings on book bags or clothing coming from an infested home, Reinhart added. The bugs could then be transferred to another child’s belongings if they are stored in close proximity.

The Indiana State Department of Health does not require schools to report bed bugs.

If bed bugs are identified, the student will change clothing and the items they were wearing will be washed and dried at school and then put in a plastic bag or bin. The child will then be allowed to change back into the clothes at the end of the day before going home.

Parents will be notified and the school nurse will provide education to the family about treating bed bugs. The student will continue to be checked each morning and go through the same process for one month after the last bed bug sighting. No belongings are to be transported from school to home during this time, Reinhart said.

If bed bugs have been sighted in the classroom, custodians will be notified and will work with a professional pest control service to treat the school building.

Amy Redlin, another parent, said keeping students with lice in the classroom isn’t fair to the rest of the class. She said all parents should be notified if their child is at risk of exposure.

“If they are going to let those students stay in the classroom, then notify the other kids’ parents in the class too so they can choose to remove their child from it,” she said. “I don’t want my child there if they have it.”

Jennifer Hendrix, who also has children attending Seymour schools, said the policy change would put an extra burden on the school system.

“This would become a full-time job for a school nurse to be combing lice out of students hair,” she said.

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What: Seymour Community School Corp. board of trustees meeting

Where: SCSC Central Administration Office, 1638 S. Walnut St., Seymour

When: 7 p.m. April 12

On the agenda: Discussion and vote on a proposed policy change regarding students identified as having head lice or bed bugs

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