Illness Indicators / Sick Day Guidelines
Guidelines for when students should stay home from school during the 2023-2024 school year.
Stay home if you:
- Have one or more symptoms in Group A OR
- Have two or more symptoms in Group B OR
- Are taking fever reducing medication.
| Group A 1 or more symptoms |
Group B 2 or more symptoms |
|---|---|
| Fever (100.0 F. or higher) Vomiting Cough Shortness of breath Difficulty breathing New loss of smell New loss of taste |
Chills Myalgia (muscle aches) Nausea Headache Sore throat Diarrhea Fatigue Congestion or runny nose |
If your child’s symptoms meet the criteria for keeping them home from school, please contact your healthcare provider, inform them of your child’s symptoms, and follow their advice.
Because it is the responsibility of the parent or guardian to decide when to send a child to school due to illness, the SASD Medical Director has suggested the following guidelines for parents:
- Nausea – If your child wakes up in the morning of school complaining of stomach upset, feeling like he/she may vomit, and does not want to eat breakfast, strongly consider keeping your child home from school this day. If after one or two hours, your child is feeling better, you could have him/her attend school later in the day.
- Vomiting – If your child has been vomiting during the previous night or the morning of the school day, keep him/her home from school that day.
- Fever – If your child has a fever the morning of school, do not send him/her to school that day. (Fever is regarded as elevated temperature one degree above the baseline temperature; typically this would be a temperature greater than 100.0 degrees Fahrenheit.) Students should be 24 hours fever free before returning to school.
- Remaining Indoors – If a child must remain indoors because of a health reason, he/she must bring a note from his/her parent stating the reason for such an excuse. If the child is to remain indoors for more than three days, a doctor’s excuse must be furnished and consideration will be made on an individual basis. The child will sit in the nurse’s or main office for the recess period.
Feel free to contact your child’s school nurse if you have questions.