By JEFF LIPTON
Head lice are small insects that cause itching while feeding on the scalp of infested people, usually children ages 3 to 12, according to health department officials. Adult lice lay eggs, called nits, in the infected person¹s scalp, and a person could be infected for up to a month, if left untreated, until the lice die. The condition is not considered a health hazard or a sign of uncleanliness and is not responsible for the spread of any disease. But lice could become a major annoyance for children and their parents who must use effective shampoos or cream rinse products to eliminate the lice.
Before the February break, one parent complained that ³the infestation of lice² in Oceanside schools has been a major problem since September, with more than 10 children being diagnosed with the condition at School 8 in one week alone last month.
According to the parent, the Nassau County Health Department has taken the complaints but said that because the Oceanside School District does not have a written policy on lice, the agency can¹t do anything about it and children are permitted back in school with nits still in their hair as long as their parents say they were treated.
³The parents are spending countless dollars and days of work lost because the school will not take any responsibility in attempting to eradicate this horrible problem,² said the parent, who was not identified. ³...At School 8 the parents were advised that there are just too many children for the nurse to check them all. That is a cop out. The schools need to take precautions and measures to eliminate this infestation from our classrooms.²
Some schools have adopted a ³not-nit policy,² preventing students with head lice from returning to school until the problem has been completely eradicated, said school board President Allenby Lyson. Oceanside school officials said they have no such policy because those students might miss a significant amount of class time.
Some school board members wanted to discuss it during the Feb. 27 board meeting.
³We are in a quandary now,² said Lyson. ³We don¹t want to keep the kids out of school. We couldn¹t come to a resolution on it. No one wants to jump into this [with a policy].²
He said he has been told the problem is under control in Oceanside, adding that the board may revisit how to handle it better at the next school board meeting.
Dr. Herb Brown, Oceanside schools superintendent, said he discussed it with Lyson at the last board meeting, but it was not on the Feb. 27 agenda for action.
³There was a problem [with head lice], but it¹s under control,² said Dr. Brown. ³If their kids have it, it¹s very annoying for parents.²
He said head lice in schools is a common problem. In Oceanside, if a student is detected to have head lice, the school principal will send a letter home to that student¹s parents suggesting what they can do to eliminate the problem. In addition, parents of other students in the school will also get a letter alerting them to be aware of head lice in their own children¹s scalps.
A local physician, Dr. Eric Shoenfeld, also works with school district officials, advising them when such issues arise, Dr. Brown said.
Cynthia Brown, a spokeswoman for the Nassau County Health Department, said her agency had been contacted by Oceanside about a problem with head lice and the health department passed along some recommendations on how to get rid of the problem.
The parent also complained that students share headphones in the computer labs everyday and the headphones are not cleaned and coats are hung next to each other in communal closets, making the spread of head lice a further possibility.
Dr. Brown disputed the claim that students share headphones and said when they hang their coats in the same closets, efforts are made to separate them as best they could.
Comments about this story? Jlipton@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 210.
