TENNESSEE, USA — Experts said Thursday that lice season is here and with kids back in school, it's the time of year when cases of lice spike.
Hundreds of people have commented online asking for school lice policies and a lot of parents are upset that kids with lice aren't immediately sent home from many schools in East Tennessee.
The Tennessee Department of Health said it doesn't have a statewide head lice policy but it does provide school districts with a list of guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Those guidelines state it is not necessary to remove a student from class because they have lice. Instead, they recommend the child be treated at home at the end of the day then return to school once treatment has begun.
There are several ways to get rid of head lice. According to the CDC, there are medicines that kill lice that have an ovicidal effect, essentially kills the eggs.
For those that are more strongly ovicidal, retreatment is recommended only if live, crawling lice are still present several days after treatment. To be most effective, retreatment should occur after all eggs have hatched but before new eggs are produced.
Head lice policies across East Tennessee are all different.
Anderson County Schools said if a nurse finds lice on a student, the student's parents are notified and they are encouraged to start treatment when the child gets home from school. Their policy is based on the CDC guidelines.
Blount County Schools' said it no longer has a policy for lice, just a procedure. It follows CDC guidelines and uses a common-sense approach. The district said if a student is miserable and cannot concentrate due to lice and itching, the parent is called to pick them up.
Campbell County students with lice are not removed from class, according to the policy online.
Claiborne County students with lice are sent home with a note the day they learn the student has the parasite. They can not return to school until they prove the student has been treated with a pediculicide product or has a satisfactory examination by a school health official.
Cocke County's policy said it does not take kids out of class but they also can't return to class until they prove they've been treated.
Cumberland County's school board policy states it removes students with lice from class and isolates them from other children.
Grainger County students are sent home with a note and can't return until they prove they've been treated.
Hamblen County students are sent home immediately, according to the policy online.
Jefferson County sends students home but there is some flexibility if parents can't pick them up right away.
Knox County Schools doesn't take students out of class if they have lice, the policy said. Once live lice are discovered students may return to the classroom and be monitored by the classroom teacher to prevent the student from having close contact (head to head) with other children for the remainder of the school day.
Loudon County notifies the parents by sending home a note with the child. The student can't return until they can prove they've been treated or checked out by a school health official.
Morgan County school nurses make the decision on whether to send the student home when they learn they have lice.
Roane County Schools does not send students home when they have lice, according to its policy.
Scott County students are sent home with a note and can't return until they prove they've been treated.
Sevier County does not send kids home. According to the policy, those students can go home at the end of the day, be treated, and return to class after appropriate treatment has begun.
Union County Schools also sends kids home at the end of the day with a note and they can't return until they've been treated.
10News was unable to obtain specifics from Fentress and Monroe Counties on lice policies.