Months after elected officials and parents complained the city was not doing enough to alert school communities about bedbug outbreaks, the Department of Education issued its first-ever policy to cope with the vermin.
Under the new protocols, principals must alert their school communities when bedbugs are found inside schools. Letters must be sent home, as well as the Department of Health’s “Stop Bed Bugs Safety” fact sheet.
“We are giving principals the discretion to notify all or part of the community,” said DOE spokeswoman Margie Feinberg.
Bedbugs don’t breed in schools, Feinberg said, but are brought in on the clothing of students.
The critters usually show up in cooler weather, and cases are on the rise.
There were 34 cases at 24 public schools last October and November. There were 72 cases at 43 schools in January and February, according to the DOE.