The TDSB is in the process of reviewing its policy toward a common childhood pest — head lice — after Toronto Public Health updated its recommendation about how to handle lice.

Historically, the TDSB and other school boards across the GTA have followed a strict “no nits” policy that barred children found with lice from attending school until the infestation had cleared up.

That may be changing.

“Now that Toronto Public Health has updated its pediculosis policy toward exclusion, the Toronto District School Board will look at its own policy toward the need to exclude children with lice,” said TDSB spokesperson Ryan Bird.

Bird could not confirm when the change will come into effect, but noted the process is underway.

The itchy, irritating insects are brown in colour and about the size of a sesame seed. Lice lay eggs, called nits, in their host’s hair and survive by feeding on blood. Lice are a common problem among young children because they can be easily spread by sharing items like hats, brushes or combs.

But, according to Richard Pollack, an entomologist who has studied head lice for more than 20 years, the amount of blood they take is very small and the worst harm they can cause is a mild, transient itching.

“Lice aren’t going to suck the blood out of your child and leave you with a potato chip instead of a living thing,” he said.

School boards across the GTA that were contacted by the Star were divided on their approach to the pests.

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“Students with head lice are not allowed to attend school until all nits are removed,” said Ryan Reyes, a representative of the Peel District School Board.

The Durham District School Board, Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board, Halton Catholic District School Board, and York Catholic District School Board all follow “no nit” policies which bar students with lice from attending school until they’ve been cleared by an approved screening agency.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the Toronto Catholic School Board said the board follows the direction of Toronto Public Health and that there was “no reason to exclude students with head lice from school.”

Recently, lice have become a touchy subject for parents with students in the Hastings and Prince Edward District School Board, which includes schools in the Belleville area.

The board released what it calls a “new approach to dealing with head lice” this month.

The board’s January newsletter to parents contained an article entitled ‘Nits are a nuisance, not a barrier to learning’ that stated that starting this month, the board would be allowing students with lice to attend school regularly so they could continue to learn.

The news was met with widespread disapproval from parents who were disgusted by the new policy.

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“Yes, head lice is not a medical issue, but unless you have had to deal with this, you can’t even begin to understand the agony that it can cause on one’s mental health,” wrote Kristy Sinclair, a mother who created a Facebook group called Stop the New Head Lice Protocol. “It’s expensive to treat and a lot of work and very damaging to your mindset.”

Pollack said the only real thing to fear when it comes to lice is hysterical parents running students out of school.

In more than two decades of studying lice, he has never seen a mass outbreak which some say will occur if students are not kept out of school until their lice infestation is cleared up. Instead, generally speaking, one out of every 100 kids has lice, regardless of the type of policy the school has toward the insects.

“There are fears that if we were to relax these practices it would result in armies of lice marauding down the corridors of our schools bringing children to their demise,” he said “That’s simply not true. We’re not dealing with Ebola here. We’re dealing with a couple of little insects.”