Illnesses

While regular school attendance is very important for student success, it is equally important to keep students home when they are sick. This helps prevent the spread of illness to others and allows the student time to rest and recover. Please refer to the Duplin County Schools Code of Conduct regarding illness, as outlined below.

ATTENDANCE GUIDANCE 4400/7510-E

Guidance for Excluding Students from School Due to Illness:

An elevation of the body’s temperature is generally considered a possible sign of illness, although variations occur. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an agency of the US Department of Health and Human Services and the American Academy of Pediatrics provide the following guidance to help reduce the spread of illness in the school setting.

Students should be excluded from school under the following conditions:

• Temperature of 100.4 degrees or higher; OR

• An elevation of temperature when accompanied by other indicators of a beginning illness, including, but not limited to:

             o Known exposure to communicable illness

             o Malaise/Fatigue/Change of Behavior o Headache

             o Chills/Body Aches o Nausea, vomiting and/or diarrhea

             o Respiratory symptoms (congestion, cough, runny nose, sore throat, and green or yellow drainage)

             o Flu-like symptoms (It is important to note that not everyone with the Flu will have a fever. Flu seasons are unpredictable in a number of ways.)

Criteria for Return:

• Students sent home for fever, vomiting or diarrhea, must remain home for 24 hours after the last episode, and remain fever/symptom free without the use of medicine.

• If your child had a fever, vomiting or diarrhea overnight or the morning prior to attending school, please DO NOT give them medications and send them to school. Please keep them home to help prevent the spread of germs.

• After an assessment of the student’s symptoms, the school nurse will use their discretion to determine if the student should be sent home. In the school nurse’s absence, school staff will follow the above-mentioned guidelines.

Revised: June 6, 2023