Lice
Laws, Rules, and Policies
No law in Texas addresses excluding children with head lice from school. The Department of State Health Services (DSHS) does not have authority to impose a set policy on the exclusion or inclusion of students with head lice in school districts. DSHS urges school districts to ensure that its policies and procedures do not unnecessarily cause children to miss class. School districts’ policies and procedures should not encourage the embarrassment and isolation of students who have repeated cases of head lice.
Lice are not a public health threat. DSHS does not monitor or track cases of head lice because they do not carry disease. It is up to each school district to create head lice policies and procedures if they choose. Talk with the school nurse or school administration to determine the school district's policy and procedures. The "Setting Policies for School Districts" header below has policy suggestions.
According to a head lice research article published by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) in 2015, "No healthy child should be excluded from or allowed to miss school time because of head lice or nits. Pediatricians may educate school communities that no-nit policies for return to school should be abandoned." You can find information for schools at the end of the research article.
Notice to Parents
As of September 1, 2017, Texas Education Code, Chapter 38, Section 38.031, Notice of Lice, states the following: "The board of trustees of an independent school district shall adopt a policy requiring a school nurse of a public elementary school who determines or otherwise becomes aware that a child enrolled in the school has lice shall provide written or electronic notice of that fact to:
- the parent of the child with lice as soon as practicable but not later than 48 hours after the administrator or nurse, as applicable, determines or becomes aware of that fact; and
- the parent of each child assigned to the same classroom as the child with lice not later than the fifth school day after the date on which the administrator or nurse, as applicable, determines or becomes aware of that fact.”
More information about confidentiality is included within the law.
