Sick Child Guidelines

HCPS Guidelines for Keeping Your Child Home from School:

We all agree that healthy children learn better. Please keep your child home if s/he is sick to help
prevent the spread of illness at school. Please do not medicate a sick child, especially with a fever,
and send them to school.

If your child has any of the following, they should remain home for at least 24 hours after
symptoms reside:

• Fever: temperature of 100 degrees Fahrenheit or higher. Remember that a child must be
fever free (without the use of fever-reducing medication) for 24 hours before returning to
school.
• Eyes: with thick mucus or pus draining from the eye or pink eye. With pink eye you may see a
white or yellow discharge, matted eyelids after sleep, eye pain and/or redness. Your child
must receive 24 hours of antibiotics and/or doctor approval before returning to school.
• Sore Throat with Fever or Swollen Glands in Neck: your child may return to school after 24
hours of antibiotic with strep throat.
• Vomiting: two (2) or more times within the past 24 hours.
• Diarrhea: three (3) or more watery stools in a 24-hour period, especially if the child acts or
looks ill.
• Earache with Fever
• Rash with Fever: heat rashes and allergic reactions are not contagious.
• Chicken Pox: Children must stay at home for five (5) days after the onset of blisters, or until
all pox are scabbed over and dry.
• Viral Cold: the first few days when your child is most uncomfortable.
• Persistent Cough
• Untreated Head or Body Lice/Scabies

If your child shows any of the above symptoms at school, it will be necessary to pick him/her up from
school. Please keep all contact phone numbers and emergency information current with your
child’s teacher and with the office.

While they should be monitored, the following symptoms do not exclude a child from school:
• Sniffles, a runny nose and/or a mild cough without a fever
• Vague complains of aches, pains, or fatigue
• Single episode of diarrhea or vomiting without any other symptoms
• Ear infection without fever: your child does not need to be excluded but does need medical
treatment. Please keep home if fever or pain is present.

COVID-19 Symptoms and Exclusion Guidelines

If your child has one of the following symptoms, per state guidelines they must stay home and you should contact your child’s health care provider and/or school nurse to be instructed on when your child can return to school:

  • Fever >100.4
  • Chills
  • New Cough
  • Shortness of Breath or difficult breathing
  • New loss of taste or smell

We know that children tend to show milder symptoms when having COVID-19. Other symptoms of COVID-19 are headache, runny nose, fatigue, muscle/body aches, sore throat, congestion, nausea, diarrhea, and vomiting. Please keep your child at home and contact your child’s health care provider if you suspect your child has symptoms of COVID-19. If your child has been in contact with someone who was positive for COVID-19, please contact the school nurse to determine when your child can return.