00                            SENATE BILL NO. 151                                                                         
01 "An Act relating to head lice in public schools."                                                                       
02 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                                
03    * Section 1. AS 14.30 is amended by adding a new section to read:                                                  
04 Sec. 14.30.144. Head lice policy in public schools. (a) A school district shall                                       
05 provide students and families with information about how to prevent head lice and                                       
06 adopt a policy regarding students with live head lice. The policy must provide that a                                   
07 student found with live head lice may remain in the student's classroom until the end                                   
08 of the school day but following that school day may not return to the classroom until a                                 
09 certificated school nurse or the certificated school nurse's designee, or other health                                  
10 care provider if the school does not employ a certificated school nurse, has inspected                                  
11 the student's hair and confirmed the absence of live head lice. Upon discovering live                                   
12 head lice in a student's hair, the student's school shall provide the student's parent or                               
13       guardian with information about how to treat head lice.                                                           
14            (b)  Subject to appropriation, each fiscal year, the department shall reimburse a                            
15       school district an amount equal to 20 percent of the district's cost to employ a                                  

01       certificated school nurse if                                                                                      
02                 (1)  the nurse works at a school in the district that serves grades                                     
03       kindergarten through eight;                                                                                       
04                 (2)  the district employs the nurse on at least a half-time basis;                                      
05                 (3)  the district checks at least 95 percent of enrolled students for live                              
06       head lice in a manner that protects student privacy on or before October 15 of each                               
07       year; and                                                                                                         
08                 (4)  the district submits a report to the department by July 1 of each                                  
09       year that                                                                                                         
10 (A)  describes the district's policy adopted under (a) of this                                                          
11            section;                                                                                                     
12 (B)  describes the information the district provides to a student's                                                     
13            parents under (a) of this section;                                                                           
14 (C)  describes, for the previous school year, how many students                                                         
15 were found to have live head lice and how many days of school each student                                              
16            missed because of live head lice; and                                                                        
17 (D)  confirms that the district checked at least 95 percent of                                                          
18 enrolled students for live head lice in a manner that protected student privacy                                         
19            on or before October 15 of the previous year.                                                                
20 (c)  If the amount appropriated for funding under (b) of this section is                                                
21 insufficient to fully reimburse each eligible school district, the department shall reduce                              
22       each reimbursement in proportion to the amount of the shortfall.                                                  
23            (d)  In this section, "school district" has the meaning given in AS 14.30.350.