Talk about head lice
Your child's school nurse, teachers and other trusted staff members can be a
great resource.
Telling the School When You Find Lice
Each year, about one out of every 100 elementary school students will become infested with head lice. At any point, one to three percent of children in elementary school may have head lice. During an outbreak, the percentage of children may be as high as 25 percent. As such, most schools have policies in place, including how to find head lice and treatment requirements. Most schools also have policies about when to send children with head lice home and when they can return to school.
Some schools have "no nit" policies, meaning that all nits must be removed from students' hair before they can return to class. However, a number of organizations, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), American Academy of Pediatrics and National Association of School Nurses, oppose "no-nit" policies, because they often keep children out of school for an unnecessary length of time.
If you have questions about when your child can return to school or just need more information about how to ensure your child does not fall behind on school work, your child's school nurse, teachers and other trusted staff members can be a great resource for information about school policies and may also provide confidential support.
Nancy Gottesman
Nancy is a health and nutrition journalist and a mom. She is a contributing editor to New Parent magazine and Baby & Toddler magazine, and has written health and parenting articles for a number of publications, including Parenting, O-the Oprah Magazine, Fitness, Glamour, Fit Pregnancy, Baby Talk and Ladies' Home Journal. She was a senior editor at Shape magazine for 11 years before becoming a freelance writer in 2005.
