Livingston students sent home due to lice
BY JENNIFER AMATO
Staff Writer

NORTH BRUNSWICK - Nine students at Livingston Park Elementary School have been infested with head lice since two weeks ago.

School nurse Diane Whalen said that lice is the second most common condition in children next to the common cold, and that all precautionary measures have been taken to limit the exposure to other students in the school.

"Not one school out there has never had head lice," she said. "We've gone above and beyond sanitary protection and above and beyond board policy with everything that needed to be done in the school and with following up with the parents."

Once a child is found to have lice, usually at the observation of a teacher or parent, the child is pulled from the classroom and every other student in the room is checked. The child is kept in the nurse's office until his/her parent arrives and the parent is instructed on the necessary follow-up. The child cannot return to the school until he/she is nit-free, meaning there is no evidence of any eggs left, and the child must be checked by the school nurse before re-entering.

All personal belongings are bagged for two weeks from the time the last case was identified, especially since jackets hang next to each other.

Classrooms are treated with sanitary disinfectants, carpets are cleaned with insecticide and all floors and closet interiors are cleaned. The cafeteria is cleaned with germicide and all computer lab headsets are bagged for two weeks.

Whalen said the North Brunswick procedures go beyond the requirements of the National Association of School Nurses and the American Association of Pediatrics, especially considering the district's no-nit policy.

The cases were originally found in two third-grade classrooms about a week-and-a-half ago and there have been no new cases reported since then. Three students have already returned to school. Shampoo treatments are used to kill the lice and their eggs but treatment times vary due to hair length and possible resistance to treatments.

Parents with any concerns or future cases are asked to call Whalen at (732) 289-3304.