SACO — The only creatures with a long-term lease in classrooms here will be fish. That means furred, feathered or reptilian animals can only make temporary visits at schools.

In an effort to improve the health and safety of students, the School Committee approved a policy that prohibits pets in classrooms for extended periods of time.

Aquariums with fish are still permitted, but anything else must have special permission.

“In some classrooms they would have some pets that would stay there all year long,” school board Chairman Ronald Morton said Wednesday.

The lesson in care and responsibility was beneficial, but with so many children suffering from allergies or asthma, “it put them at a lot of risk,” Morton said.