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Illness Indicators / Sick Day Guidelines

Guidelines for when students should stay home from school during the 2024-2025 school year. These guidelines have been endorsed by the district’s Medical Director and by the National Association of School Nurses.

A child should remain home from school if there has been:

  1. Fever – If your child has a fever the morning of school, do not send him/her to school that day. (Fever is considered to be a temperature of 100.0 degrees or higher)  Students should be 24 hours fever free without the use of fever reducing medications before returning to school. 
  2. Vomiting – If your child has been vomiting during the previous night or the morning of the school day, keep him/her home from school that day. 
  3. Diarrhea-  if there has been more than 4 stools in one day.
  4. Excessive coughing, sneezing and nasal discharge.
  5. Body aches, earache.
  6. Nausea – If your child wakes up in the morning of school complaining of stomach upset, feeling like he/she may vomit, and does not want to eat breakfast, strongly consider keeping your child home from school this day. If after one or two hours, your child is feeling better, you could have him/her attend school later in the day. 
  7. Remaining Indoors – If a child must remain indoors because of a health reason, he/she must bring a note from his/her parent stating the reason for such an excuse. If the child is to remain indoors for more than three days, a doctor’s excuse must be furnished and consideration will be made on an individual basis. A place for the child to sit during recess period will be provided by staff.

Please remember that resting at home until a fever is gone for 24 hours without medication and drinking plenty of fluids, aids healing.  Colds can be contagious for at least 48 hours.  Returning to school too soon may slow the recovery process, expose others unnecessarily to illness and reinfect your already compromised child. 

As always, hand washing is the single most important factor in the spread of disease.  Encourage your entire family to wash their hands frequently, especially before eating or handling food, after coughing or sneezing, and after toileting. 

Please contact your child’s school nurse with any questions.