When a nuisance that’s not considered a health hazard becomes a continuous pain in the butt, don’t you think more should be done than a simple shrug of the shoulders?
I recognize that lice is not a disease so it doesn’t pose a health risk, but that explanation from the Delta School District and Fraser Health is rather cold comfort for parents who have to deal with the fallout when their child comes home from school with a head full of parasites.
A parent at Hawthorne Elementary got in touch with me late last week to express frustration over the situation at the Ladner school after his daughter had contracted lice five times so far this school year. Every occurrence has necessitated another round of scalp treatment in concert with disinfecting the family’s home.
Because there’s no health risk involved this situation is termed an annoyance, but should parents have to endure this nuisance when there’s a frightfully simple approach that would go a long way to addressing the issue?
Perhaps I’m being a touch old school here, but I don’t think it’s asking too much of parents to make sure they don’t send their kids to class with a head full of creepy crawlers. I understand there will be times when parents do so inadvertently and I also understand there are plenty of other places a child could either transmit or pick up lice, however, given the amount of time kids spend at school, ensuring the classroom doesn’t double as an incubator would more than likely be a significant step forward.
Unfortunately, the school district says it can’t prevent a student from attending class, it can’t refuse them an education, over something that’s not considered a health concern. Fair enough, but don’t the other students -- and by extension their families -- have a right to get an education in an environment that’s free from lice? Or at least as free from lice as you can reasonably make it?
Ideally, parental behaviour would make this a non-issue but clearly that hasn’t been the case, at least not at Hawthorne where the cycle has maddeningly repeated itself. I know they say it’s impossible to legislate it, but surely there’s got to be a way to interject some common sense into a situation that’s sadly lacking it.
