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  3. When Your Student is Sick

When Your Student is Sick

When Should You Keep Your Child Home from School? When Can They Return After Illness?

  • Common cold symptoms, COVID-19, Influenza (flu) or other respiratory illness:
    Your student should stay home when they feel sick and are having a lot of nose and throat drainage. They may return when feeling better and they have been fever-free for at least 24 hours without the use of fever reducing medicine, such as Tylenol or ibuprofen. Testing for COVID-19 is recommended. 
    Note: wearing a mask through day 10 of a known COVID-19 illness is advised.
     
  • Diarrhea: Stay home if there have been 2 or more loose stools in a 24-hour period. May return when diarrhea-free for at least 24 hours and feeling better. Testing for COVID-19 is recommended.
     
  • Eye Drainage: Stay home if there is thick mucous or pus from one or both eyes. Consult your student's health care provider (HCP) and use guidelines they provide.
     
  • Ear Pain/Infections: Stay home if advised by healthcare provider, if there is drainage from ear, or accompanied by fever or other concerns. Children with ear infections without fever do not need to be excluded from school, but the child needs to get medical treatment and follow-up.
     
  • Fever: Stay home if temperature is 100.4 F (38 C) or higher with or without other symptoms. Student may return when they are fever-free for at least 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medicine, such as Tylenol or ibuprofen. Testing for COVID-19 is recommended.
     
  • Headache: Keep student home IF the headache resulted from a head injury or if the headache interferes with school and other activities. Headaches can often be managed at home with more sleep, healthy routines, limiting screen time, and wearing contacts/glasses as prescribed. If headaches are recurrent, persistent, severe, or accompanied by other symptoms, contact your student's healthcare provider.
     
  • Lice: Consult with school nurse or health care provider for chronic/persistent lice. Treatment is recommended before returning to school.
     
  • Rash: Any new body rash that is not from allergy. Consult Health Care Provider for diagnosis.
     
  • Scabies: May return after student has been seen by HCP and received overnight treatment for condition.
     
  • Significant Sore Throat: with or without fever. Student may return 24 hours after treatment is started or sore throat is resolved and child is feeling well. Testing for COVID-19 is recommended.
     
  • Stomach ache or abdominal pain: when accompanied by nausea, vomiting or diarrhea. If pain is severe, chronic, or with other symptoms consult HCP. Please make a personal plan to manage menstrual cramps. If cramps change, are severe or regularly interfere with activities, please see HCP.
     
  • Persistent Cough: with or without fever. Return when cough has lessened and there has been no fever for at least 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medications. Consult Health Care Provider for cough lasting more than 10 days or with fever. Testing for COVID-19 is recommended.
     
  • Vomiting: May return when vomit-free for at least 24 hours. Testing for COVID-19 is recommended.