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Keeping Sick Children Home from School

sick emoji faces

For the protection of all students, school nurses will adhere to established guidelines and will send a student home when the student becomes ill at school. Parents are requested to keep a child at home, particularly if the child displays any of the symptoms listed below: 

  • Diarrhea in the last 24 hours with or without medication.
  • Fever 100 degrees or higher - a child should be fever free for 24 hours (without taking any fever-reducing medication) prior to returning to school. During the flu season, if the temperature is below 100 but the student is exhibiting flu-like symptoms, they will be sent home at the nurse’s discretion.
  • Suspected contagious disease.
  • Vomiting (they must remain at home if they have vomited in the last 24 hours).
  • Mucous Discharge ­ if your student has a mucous discharge other than clear, please do not send them to school as this could be a sign of infection. 

A sick child who is unable to participate in school in a meaningful way should be kept home to rest and recover until symptoms resolve. Keeping a sick child home also protects other children, school staff, and visiting community members from contracting an illness that can be spread from person to person. Please be aware of the following guidelines for school attendance.

  • If you take your child to a health care provider for an illness, please be sure to request a written letter stating when your child may return to school.

A healthy school community requires parents and schools to partner with each other.  To prevent/minimize local outbreaks of contagious disease, parents must keep children who have an illness that can be spread from person to person at home, and BISD school nurses will exclude students with symptoms of a communicable illness from school attendance. 

Thank you for your cooperation!