Health

Illness

Deciding if a sick child should be sent to school or kept home can be difficult. The guidelines in this document will help with that decision. We also follow these guidelines when children become sick at school and need to be sent home. 

Medication

The school recognizes that a student with chronic or unusual health problems may require medication during school hours. Whenever possible, arrangements should be made with the physician to adjust the dosage so that it can be given at home, before and/or after school. If this is not possible, please adhere to the following procedures: 

• The school must be provided with written authorization from the doctor as well as the parent for any medication to be administered at school. This includes any kind of over-the-counter medication (lip balm, ibuprofen, cold/allergy medicine, cough drops, etc.) Students may not bring any type of medicinal substance to school. The medication authorization form can be picked up from the front office or printed here.

• Parent or guardian will bring the medication with the completed form to school. We cannot give the medication to your child without a completed form.  

• Medicine shall be provided in the original prescription bottle, which shall include the name of the student, the name of the drug, the frequency of use, and the description of the anticipated reactions of the student to the medication. 

• Whenever medication is changed by the doctor, the parent is responsible for informing the school by submitting a new form and delivering medication to the school in person by the parent or guardian.  

• All medications (prescriptions and over-the-counter) are kept in the office.  

• All medications must be picked up at the end of the year by a parent or guardian.  

• Our school nurse will reach out to you ahead of time if your child needs to take their medication while on a school field trip.  

Head Lice

Students found with head lice must be sent home. Guilford County School policy states a child must have a 75% reduction in nits and no live louse before returning to school. The student’s hair will be checked upon returning to school. Here is the GCS protocol and information about head lice.

Health Assessments and Immunizations

When students enroll in a GCS Pre-K, kindergarten, or for the first time in Guilford County Schools at any grade level, they must have a health assessment completed by a physician and have up-to-date immunizations. Completed health assessments and a copy of their immunization record can be brought to the front office at the time of enrollment, or no later than 30 days after the student’s first day of attendance. Here is the NC Health Assessment form and the immunization requirements in English and Spanish.