When to Keep Your Student Home from School

Sometimes it can be challenging to determine when your student should stay home from school and when it is appropriate for them to return following an illness. If you are in doubt, please do not hesitate to contact your school nurse for guidance.

If your student exhibits one or more of the following symptoms, a home covid test is recommended by the CDC:

• Fever (oral >100.4°F or axillary/temporal > 99.5°F)
• Chills
• Body aches/fatigue
• Runny nose or nasal congestion
• Nausea or vomiting
• Diarrhea
• Sore throat
• Cough
• Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing

If your student tests negative, they may return to school once their symptoms have improved AND they have been fever-free (without fever-reducing medication) for at least 24 hours and they have not vomited for at least 24 hours.

If they test positive, please notify the school nurse for guidance.

Other reasons to keep your student home include:

• Persistent abdominal pain/ stomachache
• Undiagnosed rash
• Inflamed eye(s)

If your student has been diagnosed with either of the following, they can return to school once they have completed 24-hours of the prescribed treatment:

• Strep Throat
• Pink-eye (bacterial conjunctivitis)