BUFFALO TWP — Freeport Area School District is one of only a handful of districts that has been offered an educational program on Lyme disease.

The school board at its Wednesday meeting heard Ian Magness, superintendent, report that the state Department of Health approached him about a Lyme disease pilot program the department is carrying out across the state for fourth-graders.

Magness said Freeport was included in the districts approached because it is in the top 25% for students diagnosed with Lyme disease, a tick-borne illness.

He said a health department educator would give a one-time, hour-long Lyme disease presentation in May at no cost to the district.

Mark O’Neill, state Department of Health press secretary, said a slide presentation will show students what ticks are, where they are found, and a demonstration of steps they can take to avoid tick bites.

They also will learn what to do if they do get a tick bite and keep apprised of the symptoms of Lyme disease and other tick-borne illnesses.

Students will play a game to reinforce the learning and will receive goodie bags with information and some treats to help them remember the information.

“Information will also be provided to the students to take home to their parents or guardians so the whole family will have the benefit of the tick prevention information,” O’Neill said.

The presentation would be given to all fourth graders in the district.

O’Neill said the pilot program was created because Pennsylvania is in the top 10 states for Lyme disease cases per 100,000 people.

Children ages 5 to 14 are at a high risk for Lyme disease, O’Neill said.

“We wanted to provide education to children in this age group,” he said.

Magness said students would be surveyed anonymously by the department before the presentation and again in the fall to determine what they knew about the disease beforehand and how much information they had retained from the presentation.

He said parents could opt their students out, but he feels it would be a good way to collect data on students’ knowledge of Lyme disease, raise awareness, and maybe even reduce the number of diagnoses among elementary students.

The health department approached 14 school districts, with the closest one to Freeport Area being in Beaver County.

O’Neill said the department hopes to expand the program to other school districts, which will be based on feedback from the pilot program and analysis of the evaluation after the presentation.

He said the department has a set of slides available to all school districts for Lyme disease education, and is holding a Lyme art contest for any Pennsylvania student in grades one through six.

Adam Toncini, school board president, said he hopes parents do not engage in conspiracy theories over the pilot program.

“They’re not taking blood from students,” Toncini said.

The school board is expected to vote on the program at its meeting Wednesday.