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SB151 • 2026

SCHOOL DISTRICT HEAD LICE POLICY

An Act relating to head lice in public schools.

Children Education Privacy
Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor
SENATORS BJORKMAN, Tobin
Last action
2025-05-12
Official status
(S) FIN
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The bill summary does not mention bacterial conjunctivitis, but it is included in the official text. The candidate explanation incorrectly includes details about bacterial conjunctivitis which are not supported by the provided official source material.

School District Head Lice Policy

This act requires school districts to create policies for dealing with head lice in public schools.

What This Bill Does

  • Requires each school district to make a policy about students who have live head lice.
  • Allows students with live head lice to stay in class until the end of the day, but they must be checked by a nurse before returning after that.
  • Informs parents if their child's classmate has head lice while protecting the privacy of all students involved.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Public schools in Alaska
  • Students who have live head lice

Terms To Know

school district
A group of public schools managed by a local board.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill does not specify how to protect student privacy when informing parents about head lice.
  • It is unclear what happens if a school district fails to follow the new policies.

Bill History

  1. 2025-05-12 1222

    (S) REFERRED TO FINANCE

  2. 2025-05-12 1222

    (S) FN1: (EED)

  3. 2025-05-12 1222

    (S) DP: TOBIN, CRONK, BJORKMAN, STEVENS, KIEHL

  4. 2025-05-12 1221

    (S) EDC RPT CS 5DP NEW TITLE

  5. 2025-05-09 Min

    (S) Minutes (SEDC)

  6. 2025-05-09 Text

    (S) Moved CSSB 151(EDC) Out of Committee -- Rescheduled from 5/7/25 --

  7. 2025-05-09 Text

    (S) EDUCATION at 03:30 PM BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)

  8. 2025-04-14 Min

    (S) Minutes (SEDC)

  9. 2025-04-14 Text

    (S) Heard & Held

  10. 2025-04-14 Text

    (S) EDUCATION at 03:30 PM BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)

  11. 2025-04-11 Text

    (S) -- Invited & Public Testimony -- -- MEETING CANCELED --

  12. 2025-04-11 Text

    (S) EDUCATION at 03:30 PM BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)

  13. 2025-04-09 750

    (S) COSPONSOR(S): TOBIN

  14. 2025-03-28 640

    (S) EDC, FIN

  15. 2025-03-28 640

    (S) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS

Official Summary Text

SCHOOL DISTRICT HEAD LICE POLICY
An Act relating to head lice in public schools.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
SB0151B -1- CSSB 151(EDC)
New Text Underlined [DELETED TEXT BRACKETED]

34-LS0709\W

CS FOR SENATE BILL NO. 151(EDC)

IN THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA

THIRTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE - FIRST SESSION

BY THE SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE

Offered: 5/12/25
Referred: Finance

Sponsor(s): SENATORS BJORKMAN, Tobin
A BILL

FOR AN ACT ENTITLED

"An Act relating to head lice and bacterial conjunctivitis in p u b l i c s c h o o l s ; a n d 1
providing for an effective date." 2
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 3
* Section 1. AS 14.30 is amended by adding a new section to read: 4
Sec. 14.30.144. Head lice and bacteri al conjunctivitis policy i n public 5
schools. Each school district shall adopt a policy regarding 6
(1) students with live head lice; and 7
(2) bacterial conjunctivitis. 8
* Sec. 2. AS 14.30.144 is amended by adding new subsections to read: 9
(b) A school district that has not adopted a policy under (a)( 1) of this section 10
shall allow a student found with live head lice to remain in th e student's classroom 11
until the end of the school day, but following that school day the student may not 12
return to the classroom until a school nurse or the school nurs e's designee, or other 13
health care provider if the sc hool does not employ a school nur se, has inspected the 14
34-LS0709\W
CSSB 151(EDC) -2- SB0151B
New Text Underlined [DELETED TEXT BRACKETED]

student's hair and confirmed the absence of live head lice. Upo n discovering live head 1
lice in a student's hair, the student's school shall 2
(1) provide the student's parent or guardian with information on how to 3
treat head lice; and 4
(2) notify the parent or guardian of each student in the classroom of the 5
head lice in a manner that protects each student's privacy. 6
(c) A school district that has not adopted a policy under (a)( 2) of this section 7
shall require a student found to have bacterial conjunctivitis to immediately leave the 8
student's classroom and may not allow the student to return to school for at least 24 9
hours after starting medical trea tment for the bacterial conjun ctivitis. Upon 10
discovering that a student has bacterial conjunctivitis, the st udent's school shall notify 11
the parent or guardian of each student in the classroom of the bacterial conjunctivitis 12
in a manner that protects each student's privacy. 13
(d) In this section, "school district" has the meaning given in AS 14.30.350. 14
* Sec. 3. Section 2 of this Act takes eff ect 180 days after the effective date of sec. 1 of this 15
Act. 16