Student Illness & School Attendance

Article

We know that regular school attendance is critical for our students – they cannot learn if they are not there!  For many families, then, it can be a difficult decision about when to send students to school, and when to keep them home, if they are showing symptoms of illness. 

When to Send
Send students to school if they:

  • Have a runny nose or just a cough, but no other symptoms;
  • Haven’t taken any fever-reducing medicine for 24 hours and haven’t had a fever during that time;
  • Haven’t thrown up or had any diarrhea for 24 hours.

When to Keep Home
Keep students home (and call the school to notify them of illness) if they:

  • Have a temperature higher than 100 degrees even after taking medicine;
  • Are throwing up or have diarrhea;
  • Have eyes that are pink and crusty.

When to Call the Doctor
Be sure to get a note from the doctor and turn it in to your student’s attendance office:

  • Have a temperature higher than 100 degrees for more than two days;
  • Have been throwing up or have diarrhea for more than two days;
  • Have had sniffles for more than a week, and aren’t getting any better;
  • Still have asthma symptoms even after using asthma medication (call 911 if having trouble breathing after using an inhaler).