Parents/Guardians are often faced with the decision to keep their student at home or send them to school. However, if a student remains at home and has the care they need when first becoming ill, the length of the illness is often shortened.

Staying home and resting permits the body to combat the illness more quickly. If your student is coming down with a contagious disease, remaining at home may prevent infecting the rest of the students.

It is suggested students remain at home if they have the following conditions:

• Severe colds, coughs, or sore throats
• Eye infections, especially if a discharge is present
• New skin rashes, especially if draining—unless medical opinion states rash is non-communicable
• Temperature of 100° or more—with or without symptoms
• Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, or abdominal pain
• Any other sign of acute illness
• Until the result of a throat culture is known

Students may return to school when:

• Free of symptoms
• Temperature remains normal for 24 hours (without the use of fever-reducing medicine)
• No diarrhea or vomiting for 24 hours
• On an antibiotic for at least 24 hours
• Advised by a physician to do so

It is often challenging to decide whether it is essential to keep your student home. There are no specific rules to follow as we are dealing with variables. Hopefully, the above guidelines will be helpful to you in making this decision. If your student stays home, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to notify the school of the absence.