Communicable Disease

SCHOOL RESPONSIBILITIES:

It is through a cooperative effort that we provide a healthy and safe school environment for all students and school employees. Students who are assessed by the nurse, administrator, or designee and are determined to have a possible communicable disease, show signs and symptoms of illness, or sustain an injury requiring medical attention are to be dismissed from school. The following guidelines are provided:

•Students desiring to leave school sick must first be seen by the nurse or health care provider and follow their recommendations, otherwise the absence may be considered unexcused.

•The parent/legal guardian is the initial contact.

•If the initial contact is unable to be reached, persons authorized on the student’s demographic information sheet will be contacted.

PARENT RESPONSIBILITIES:

Parents are encouraged to observe their children for signs of disease or illness.  Students identified (but not limited to) with the following symptoms  must be excluded from school until symptom-free for 24 consecutive hours without the use of fever-reducing medication:

  • fever

  • scaly patches on the scalp or skin

  • diarrhea

  • open or draining sores or lesions

  • vomiting

  • colored discharge from eyes or nose 

  • undiagnosed rash

  • intense itching red eye(s)                            

  • presence of lice or nits (Students may be sent home for the presence of head lice/nits at the discretion of the nurse/health aide.  Students may return to school after being treated at home and then re-checked and released by the school nurse/health aid.)

          

RETURNING TO SCHOOL:

Students excluded from school for reason of communicable disease may be readmitted by one of the following methods:  

•the student must be fever-free and symptom-free for 24 consecutive hours without the use of fever-reducing medications.
•documentation from the child’s physician states that the child may return to school and they are not infectious.
•documentation for readmission is issued by the local health authority.
 

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