Centennial and Parker School Head Lice Policies

Schools in the Centennial area do not exclude children from the classroom for either live bugs or nits. See below for the recommended process if you find lice on your child.

CENTENNIAL

Head Lice Information for Schools:

Students diagnosed with live head lice do not need to be sent home early from school; they can go home at the end of the day, be treated, and return to class after appropriate treatment has begun. Nits may persist after treatment, but successful treatment should kill crawling lice.

Both the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the National Association of School Nurses (NASN) advocate that "no-nit" policies should be discontinued. "No-nit" policies that require a child to be free of nits before they can return to schools should be discontinued for the following reasons: Many nits are more than ¼ inch from the scalp. Such nits are usually not viable and very unlikely to hatch to

become crawling lice, or may in fact be empty shells, also known as 'casings'.

Nits are cemented to hair shafts and are very unlikely to be transferred successfully to other people.

The burden of unnecessary absenteeism to the students, families and communities far outweighs the risks associated with head lice.

Misdiagnosis of nits is very common during nit checks.

Source: Rolling Hills Elementary

PARKER

Head lice are common among children in all socioeconomic groups and are not a health hazard or sign of uncleanliness. Lice are the size of a sesame seed and feed on small amounts of blood. Lice lay oval-shaped eggs (nits) that are firmly attached to the hair shaft close to the scalp. 

Source: Douglas County SD 

If you find head lice on your child, never fear, LiceDoctors is here to help you get your child back in school with confidence. Call 720-292-1991 today for same day treatment in your district.