School District Considering New Lice Policy

When Central Bucks students return to school in September, they and their families may find a new lice policy waiting for them.

Kids will no longer be sent home from school if they have lice, if the Central Bucks school board approves a new policy as recommended.

You're probably shuddering right now. But that's part of the problem, according to national groups that recommend policy on such matters.

Public policy has been based on that emotional reaction for years, as most schools forbid a child from coming to school if they have lice. But the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American School Health Association have recommended reversing that policy.

"The burden of unnecessary absenteeism to the students, families and communities far outweighs the risks associated with head lice," according to a statement explaining Central Bucks' shift.

Students with lice must be treated for it, and children who are not treated may not return to school. But kids who have been adequately treated should not be kept out of school, the national groups said - and Central Bucks' school nurses agree.

"This policy comes out of recommendations from our medical staff and the CDC," superintendent Dr. N. Robert Laws said at a recent school board meeting. "The issue is not so much when to exclude children, because we will exclude children with an active infestation."

"After treatment, the lice or nits will be killed and we should avoid excluding children for a long period of time," Laws continued.

Their reasoning was based on a review of scientific information about lice, including:

• Lice do not cause disease and are not dangerous to children or others.
• By the time lice is discovered, the child usually has had them for 3-4 weeks.
• School is not a high risk area for getting lice. Research over the past 10
  years has consistently shown that school is rarely the place of lice transmissions. The vast majority of cases of lice are spread by friends and family members.
• The burden of unnecessary absenteeism to the students, families and communities far outweighs the risks associated with head lice.
• Lice are only spread through head to head contact. They are much harder to “catch” than the common cold.
• Lice can only crawl; they can neither jump nor fly.

The suggested policy and explanations behind the change are posted on the school district's website for public review.

"I recognize that this is a volatile subject," Laws told the school board, "so we’ll be interested in hearing what folks have to say."

To review the policy and supporting documents, click on the pdf files attached to this article.