Sick Day Guidelines:
Making the Right Call
When Your Child Is Sick:
Should I keep my child home or send him or her to school?
School policy (and state public health guidelines) requires a child stay home if he or she:
♦ Has a fever of 100.0 degrees or higher
♦ Has been vomiting or has diarrhea
♦ Has symptoms that keep him or her from participating in school, such as:
o Very tired or lack of appetite
o Cough that he or she cannot control, sneezing often
o Headache, body aches, or earache
o Sore Throat—a minor sore throat is ok for school, but a severe sore throat could be
strep throat, even if there is no fever. Other symptoms of strep throat in children are
headache and stomach upset, or rash. Call your doctor if your child has theses
symptoms.
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Keep your child home until his or her fever has been gone for 24 hours without medicine.
Colds can be contagious for at least 48 hours. Returning to school too soon may slow recovery or
allow them to be exposed to other germs while they are still getting better. Sending them back
to soon exposes other people unnecessarily to illness.
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Keep you child home until 24 hours after last vomiting or diarrhea episode.
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Since a rash is a hallmark symptom of many infectious diseases, it is important to identify
the cause of a rash. Parents/guardians of children with a rash of unexplained origin will be
asked to consult with a doctor for diagnosis and treatment.
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If a runny nose is your child’s only symptom it is ok to send him or her to school. However, if the
runny nose is associated with a fever and/or the nasal discharge is this and colored then he or
she needs to stay home.
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If it is wet or cold outside send your child to school. Children do not play outside if the
weather is hazardous.
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If your child has overslept, bring your child to school. “Better late than never”.
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Children with pink eye only need to stay home until on medication for 24 hours.
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If your child is complaining of not feeling well but has no definite symptoms, send him or her
to school. I will call you if something more develops.
I hope this is helpful. Please call me whenever you have questions.
Anne Guerrier, BSN, RN, PEL-CSN
Certified School Nurse
(708) 524-3076