When Is My Child Too Sick to Go to School?
When Kids Don't Feel Well, When Can They Go to School and When Should They Stay Home?
Being sure that a child is well enough to go to school can be tough for any parent. It often comes down to whether the child can still participate at school. Having a sore throat, cough, or mild congestion doesn't always mean kids can't handle class and other activities.
Kids should stay home when they have symptoms like a fever over 100.4°F, diarrhea, vomiting, or trouble breathing.
When in doubt, check with your child's school nurse. Many have guidelines about what families should do if their kids get sick. It’s also important to report that your child is sick to the school nurse.
Please keep your child home from school if he or she has:
- Temperature of 100.4 degrees or higher in the past 24 hours
- Students may return when 24 hours fever free without the use of fever-reducing medications
- Vomiting or diarrhea in the past 24 hours
- Untreated infections such as strep throat, ringworm, bacterial conjunctivitis, or impetigo.
- These are all contagious infections and must be treated with medication for at least 24 hours before returning to schooll
- Rash of unknown origin
- Rashes may indicate many different things and should be checked out by a healthcare provider.
- Pain (such as earaches, toothaches and headaches) that may interfere with your child's ability to learn.
Almost 1 in 4 Massachusetts students missed 18 or more days of school in 2022-2023.
Being chronically absent can have a significant impact on a student's academic progress and their ability to access the variety of academic and non-academic supports that schools provide.
If you are unsure whether or not you should send your child to school please reach out to your child's school nurse.