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Keep Home OR Send to School

Absence From School

Although we encourage good school attendance habits, we also stress that children who are ill should be kept at home. A white excuse card is provided by the school district and should be used for all absences. The child should bring the card to school on the day that he/she returns from an absence. If your child is absent from school with a communicable disease, he/she shall see the school nurse upon returning to school. If the absence was for three or more consecutive days, a doctor’s excuse is required.

School Health Services

A nurse is on duty full-time in the health room for first aid treatment of accidents or illnesses occurring in the school. If a child is feeling ill, he or she must report to the nurse’s office to be examined. Students should not call or text parents/guardians prior to visiting the nurse; this will be deemed a cell phone violation, and student will receive a disciplinary consequence. Students will be permitted to contact parents/guardians after being examined by the nurse. Emergency information will be collected each year for all students so that a parent/guardian can be contacted if the nurse determines it is necessary for the student to leave school due to illness or injury.  Please revise your contact information in the Community portal if it changes.

When should I keep my child home from school?

The district encourages parents to keep their son or daughter at home if he or she has any of the following symptoms. Your child should remain at home until these symptoms are resolved or treated by a doctor.

  • Temperature over 100.4 degrees (should be normal for 24 hours without using fever-reducing medicine before returning to school)
  • Vomiting and/or diarrhea
  • Red, itchy eyes with drainage
  • Persistent cough or thick nasal discharge
  • Persistent itching of the scalp or skin (if your child has been treated for head or body lice, call your school nurse to have your child checked before he or she goes to class)

Are there certain health conditions that would prohibit my child from attending school?

Yes. Students shall be excluded from school for the following specified diseases and infectious conditions as regulated by the Pennsylvania Department of Health:

  • Acute contagious conjunctivitis (pink eye) - 24 hours from first application of appropriate medication from child’s physician.
  • Ringworm – until treated and judged non-infective by the child’s physician.
  • Impetigo – until treated and judged non-infective by the child’s physician.
  • Head or body lice – until treated and progress noted by health room staff.
  • Scabies – until treated by the child’s physician.
  • Tonsillitis – 24 hours from the first application of appropriate medication.
  • Respiratory streptococcal infections, including scarlet fever – 24 hours after first dose of appropriate medication from child’s physician.
  • Chickenpox – 6 days from the last crop of vesicles (pox).
  • Measles – 4 days from the onset of rash.
  • Mumps – 9 days from the onset or until swelling subsides.
  • Rubella (German Measles) – 4 days from the onset of the rash.
  • Pertussis (Whopping Cough) – 5 days from the first dose of antibiotic.
  • Diphtheria – 2 weeks from the onset or until appropriate negative culture tests.
  • MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus) - until treated and judged non-infective by the child’s physician.