Eugene 4J school board members are set to review the district’s policy on head lice at their meeting Wednesday evening. It could lead to the end of a “no-nit” policy that keeps students out of school when they have head lice.
Citing change in guidance from the Oregon Health Authority in 2017, the district is looking to adopt a new policy that would require parents or guardians to be notified but would allow the student to remain in the classroom.
“Exclusion for lice is an equity issue,” wrote Tim Heider, a spokesperson for the Oregon Health Authority, in an email to KLCC. “Unnecessary exclusions result in lost learning time, as well as parent/guardian loss of work time, and may widen the achievement gap particularly for under-resourced students.”…