Letter to the Editor: School District Lice Policy Has Pleasanton Mom Scratching Her Head

Submitted by Pleasanton resident Kellie Machi:

I am the parent of a third-grade student who attends Valley View Elementary School. Since early November, our family has been fighting what can only be described as an un-winnable battle against head lice. We have spent a great deal of time, effort, and hundreds of dollars getting our daughter a clean, lice-free head. It has all been for not as it appears the third grade, not just her class, but many students in third grade, and more likely the entire school, are infested with lice.

The current policies of PUSD regarding head lice are unacceptable, and the fact that our children are passing it back and forth, ridding ourselves from it, just to get it back is proof of that.

The district and school talk a great deal about responsibility. Teaching our children to be responsible, holding them accountable for their actions. My question is why doesn’t the district take responsibility?

We as parents do everything in our power to rid our children’s head of these parasites. We clean our houses top to bottom, we do endless piles of laundry, pick at our children’s heads while they cry from the pain and sheer amount of hours it takes.

Yet the district does nothing to prevent it. Why is that? Where is their responsibility? There is also much talk about a team effort between parents and teachers to ensure our children are getting all they can from school.

Well, let me tell you, we need teamwork now in this matter. Our children are passing lice back and forth to each other under their watch. And it can be prevented.

Related:

• 5 Tips To Fight ‘Super Lice’ As Kids Go Back To School
• Mutated ‘Super Lice’ Strike in California and 24 Other States

The following policies that were in place prior to the 2013 change would have prevented my family from having to go through this a second time just 6 weeks after we got through it:

*Head checks in classes that have had an outbreak.
*School-wide letters to parents so every child has a chance to get checked by their parents, as I’m sure you’re well aware that our children do not just associate with children from their own class.
*Most importantly, not allowing students back at school until they have been cleared by the school nurse to be nit and louse free.

Furthermore, the information regarding head lice on the district website would be laughable if this situation weren’t so infuriating.

It is as follows:

“Head lice is an ongoing issue in school communities. For more information, please refer to the All About Head Lice information Sheet and the Frequently Asked Questions. More information can be found in this presentation.”

The fact that the links do not work shows their utter lack of attention to this matter. The fact that these changes were ever made is a disgrace and a disservice to our children, and to the parents in the district. There is much talk about how important it is for students to attend school regularly and to be ready to learn. Well, having repeated outbreaks of lice is not conducive to learning. It may not have a long-lasting physical impact, but I can tell you that my daughter’s mental health has suffered during this time. Especially having it come back.

The policies of the district are sending a message to parents and students alike that communication regarding lice is not needed nor wanted. Lice is a fact of life for millions of school children and their families every year, and we need to take the shame out of it, and it begins with the district. As the school district for our city, they should lead the discussion and it begins with the policy. Reinstating a policy to insist that parents communicate when their child is infected is crucial to the containment and quick resolution of an outbreak. Otherwise, we end up where we are today, getting reinfected over and over again.

We as parents are not at school with our children, we can only do so much before sending them to be under the school’s care. We need the distrcit’s help to combat this problem because the policies currently in place now are compounding it, and that is completely unacceptable.

I strongly urge the district to actively review the current policy, its lack of transparency, communication, and the negative impact it is having on the school children and families in this district.

Kellie Machi