The Hawaii Department of Education will be changing its policy from taking kids with ukus (aka head lice) out of classrooms to be in compliance with the Department of Health's updated policy. When a child has been found to have ukus, their parents were called to take them home and have it taken care of. The original policy required that the child be nit-free before returning to school to reduce absenteeism.  The new policy change will mean that the infested child can return to class and remain a vector to transmit it to the rest of the class.  (Read the policy and change here. http://health.hawaii.gov/docd/dib/disease/head-lice/ As a parent of public school children, I am angered that my kids and the rest of our family can be potentially affected by this pest.  As a family of 5 with kids from 10 to a year old, we all can be affected by the spread of head lice.  As a health care provider, if I get it, I could be a vector to the residents that I work with and my coworkers.  The lost time of one student in school because of ukus can have a huge effect on others in the community and cause unnecessary loss of work and spread the infestation.   The responsible action to make minimize the impact of ukus should be the utmost priority as there are many consequences to this change including more people becoming carriers to this pest. If we can prevent the spread of it, why not follow it? You can also let the Hawaii Department of Education know by sending them an email.   I am seeking a better policy to address the full scope of this decision and its impact upon the community.