When to Keep a Student Home Due to Illness

When a student is ill, resting at home allows the body to combat the illness more quickly and can help prevent spreading the illness to other students. Please refer to the following guidelines when determining if a student should attend school or remain at home.  

When you keep a student home due to illness, please contact program secretaries to report symptoms so that we can monitor infectious disease within our building.

Guidelines for keeping students home from school:

• Severe cold, cough, or sore throat

• New skin rashes, especially with fever or behavior changes unless medical opinion states that it is not contagious

• Temperature of 100℉ or more, with or without other symptoms (check temp BEFORE giving medications that reduce fever)

• Vomiting, diarrhea, or abdominal pain

• Any other signs of acute illness (examples: extreme fatigue, difficulty breathing, unexplained irritability/crying, or student needs more care than can be provided at school)

• until the results of a throat culture are known

Students may return to school after being ill when:

• Temperature remains normal for 24 hours WITHOUT the use of fever reducing medications such as Tylenol or Motrin

• No vomiting or diarrhea for 24 hours

• Have taken prescribed antibiotics for 12 hours

• Symptoms have significantly improved and student is able to participate in regular school activities

• For respiratory illness: Stay home until BOTH fever-free without medications for 24 hours AND symptoms are improving for 24 hours, taking additional precautions for the next 5 days (masking, distancing, testing)

• Have physician signed documentation stating that student can return to school

(updated 3/2024)