School Board Policy: Ticks and Tick Bites- Students/Faculty/Staff
Adopted: April 30, 2025
Purpose
The School Board recognizes that diseases from certain tick bites can cause diseases in students with potential long-term problems, if not evaluated and treated promptly.
Authority
The Board adopts this policy in accordance with Act 120 of 2024, state and federal laws and regulations and the guidelines established by the PA Department of Health on preventing and managing tick bites at school.
Definition
Deer ticks are the most common ticks in Pennsylvania. They are very small may carry pathogens that cause Lyme disease, anaplasmosis, babesiosis and Powassan virus. The most common illness caused by ticks that bite and attach for more than 24 hours is Lyme disease. Doctors can usually treat Lyme disease with antibiotics. Untreated Lyme disease may cause joint, heart, brain or nerve abnormalities.
Prevention
Teach students/staff how to identify ticks and what to do if they see one or find one embedded on themselves using current best practices recommended by the PA DOH. Instruct students to avoid areas that attract ticks such as grass, leaf piles, bushes/shrubs, wooded areas. Have students check themselves and others for ticks before entering the school after outdoor recess/PE especially if they have been in or near the grass.
Management at School
Identification
Non-Embedded: Report any ticks that you see inside the school or outside on school grounds to a school administrator. Ticks should not be squeezed or squashed. Use a gloved hand and tweezers to place the tick in a small plastic zip lock bag and give it to the school nurse or other designated school agent for identification.
Embedded: DO NOT remove the tick. The student will report to the nurse for tick identification and removal.
Removal
The nurse will use current PA DOH guidelines for tick removal and next steps. The student’s parent/guardian will be notified in writing, using the prompt below as required by law.
A tick was removed from your child today. Ticks can transmit disease and make people sick. A common illness caused by ticks in Pennsylvania is Lyme disease. Not all tick bites lead to Lyme disease. We advise that you record the date on which the tick was removed. It is recommended that you seek medical treatment from your child’s doctor promptly if you notice any early signs or symptoms of illness within three (3) to thirty (30) days of the date of removal.
Some people with Lyme disease will get a bull’s-eye rash. Others may have an atypical rash. Not everyone who has Lyme disease gets a rash. Other symptoms which may occur during the early stages of Lyme disease include chills, fever, headache, tiredness, stiff neck, joint pain or swelling and swollen lymph nodes Lyme disease is treated with antibiotics. If untreated, infection may progress to joint, heart, brain or nerve abnormalities.
More information and resources on ticks can be found on the Pennsylvania Department of Health’s website but please contact your child’s physician if there are any medical concerns.
The parent/guardian may send the tick to the Tick Research Lab of Pennsylvania. The school should provide information about how to do this. OR the tick can be sent to the lab by the school. If sent by the school, upon receiving the results, the school shall send the original results to the parent/guardian without making a copy of the results or including the results in the school health record. The school may notate the disease present in the tick without identifying personal information of the child for data purposes.
Legal
Act 120 of 2024