Illness & Attendance

Help Ensure the Health & Safety of All Students

Students learn better when they feel well. Our school nurse is here to help when you need to make decisions about your student’s healthcare needs.

Our school needs:

  • To have emergency telephone numbers for you and someone else who can help if you are not available in the event your student becomes ill at school.

  • To know about any health problems your child has or has had in the past.

  • To be informed when you are keeping your student home due to illness.

  • To know if your student has a condition which could be spread to others.

When to Keep Students Home from School

We recommend keeping students home if they have any of the following symptoms or conditions.

  • Bad cold

  • Chicken Pox

  • Conjunctivitis (Pink Eye)

  • Drainage from ears or eyes

  • Fever of 100 degrees Fahrenheit or greater within the last 24 hours

  • Frequent, hard coughing

  • Head lice

  • Loose, watery bowel movements

  • Vomiting

  • Any symptoms of COVID-19 – please contact your school for returning-to-the-building information.

When to Take Students to the Doctor for Illness

We recommend keeping students home from school and seeking medical care if they have any of the following symptoms.

When to Return Students to School After Illness

We recommend returning students to school when the following occurs:

  • No temperature (over 100 degrees) for 24 hours without fever-reducing medication.

  • Student feels well enough to be in school for the full day.

  • No vomiting or loose stools for at least a day.

  • If positive for COVID-19 or have symptoms and have not tested, you may return after 5 full days of isolation from the onset of symptoms.  Symptoms onset day is day 0.  An example is: symptoms started on October 12, may return on October 18 and will need to mask while at school October 18 through the 22.  Further questions can be directed to your school nurse or the schools COVID-19 Site coordinator. The most complete and current information is on our web under Families, Health and in the COVID-19 Safety information.

Guidelines are Subject to Change

We take guidance from the Washington State Department of Health and/or King County Public Health Department. Therefore, during outbreaks of disease or illness, the above guidelines may change.