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Head Lice
There have been several cases of lice reported in our school community. We want to ensure families have the tools needed to check and treat their children if necessary.
Head lice are tiny insects that make their home in human hair. Anyone can get lice and it is fairly common in school-age children. They are not a sign of poor hygiene and lice are not known to spread infectious disease.
Most commonly, head lice are spread by direct head-to-head contact with someone who has head lice. Lice crawl; they do not jump or fly. They may also be spread by sharing personal items such as combs, brushes, other hair-care items, towels, pillows, hats, and other head coverings. Dogs, cats, and other pets do not spread head lice.
Because lice is common in childhood, it is important to check your children’s hair for head lice on a regular basis.
In general, our school practice includes the following:
- When a child is identified with an active head lice infestation at school parents will be notified. Your child can remain at school and should be treated before returning to school.
- Your child’s health information will be kept private.
- Treatment should begin at home, as soon as possible once you are aware that your child has lice.
- Check everyone at home if one person in the home has head lice. Health Office staff can help by checking siblings at school upon request.
- Mass lice screenings at school are not performed.
- Please let the health office know if your child has lice: 952-928-6605
Resources
Minnesota Department of Health Lice Information:
COLD & FLU SEASON IS UPON US
To help prevent the spread of illness within our school community please follow these important guidelines:
Situations when your child should stay home:
- Fever of 100 degrees or more. The student should stay home for 24 hours after their temperature returns to normal without the use of fever reducing medication.
- Vomiting/diarrhea more than twice in the preceding 24 hours. Stay home until 24 hours after the last episode.
- Any uncontrolled cough, respiratory virus symptoms that are worsening or not improving and not better explained by another cause such as seasonal allergies *
- Rash with a fever and/or unknown cause. Check with your family physician/clinic before your student returns to school.
- If feeling ill/unwell and the student is unable to fully participate in school activities.
CDC Respiratory Virus Guidelines: Respiratory virus symptoms can include fever, chills, fatigue, cough, runny nose, and headache, among others. The guidance for common respiratory illnesses (flu, COVID, RSV) is to stay home for 24 hours until both:
- Your symptoms are getting better, and
- You have not had a fever without taking fever-reducing medication.
Practice Good Hygiene:
- Remind your children to wash their hands frequently with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.
- Encourage them to cover their coughs and sneezes with a tissue or their elbow and avoid touching their face.
Vaccinations:
- Keep your child up-to-date with vaccinations to reduce the risk of contracting vaccine preventable diseases and prevent serious illness.
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For information on how to access your or your family’s immunization records, visit Find My Immunization Record (www.health.state.mn.us/people/immunize/miic/records.html).
Communicable Disease Alerts
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