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Head Lice Information

Head Lice

If your child has nits or live lice, contact the school nurse immediately. Rest assured that we are working closely with parents to help them eradicate this problem at home and to keep our students in school.

Head lice are a nuisance best avoided by common-sense prevention measures, frequent inspection, and effective treatment when necessary. They are often found in the hair around the ears and base of the neck but may be present on other areas of the scalp. Head lice don't carry any diseases. Children are often without symptoms but may have an itchy scalp. If close contact results in the transferring of lice, eggs that are laid may hatch in 7-10 days. Transmission occurs by direct contact with an infested person, usually head-to-head contact. Although we cannot prevent the incidence of students who bring head lice to school, you can assist in the control of its spread. All household members should be checked for the presence of lice. Remind your child not to share hats, combs, and clothing, or hair accessories.   If your child is identified with:
  • live head lice you will be called to take him/her home for treatment.
  • nits (eggs) only you should take him/her home at the end of the school day and treat.

In either case, instructions and guidance will be provided to assist you in lice/nit removal and home maintenance.

A student sent home due to live head lice will be permitted to return to school and the classroom only when the parent or guardian brings the student to school to be checked by the school nurse, and the child is determined to be free of the live head lice. Infested children are prohibited from riding the bus to school to be checked for head lice.    District 63 does not recommend specific products to treat head lice and urges parents to contact their own health care professionals for advice.    Refer to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) website for more information about head lice and its treatment.   Note: We no longer send home letters to classrooms when a student has nits or live bugs. Research has found that doing lice checks in schools is not an effective measure to decrease cases.