- Shakopee Public Schools
- Health & Family Partnership
- When to Keep Your Child Home
When to Keep Your Child Home
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Certain symptoms in children may suggest the presence of a communicable disease. Excluding an ill student may decrease the spread of the disease to others. Students with any of the symptoms listed below should be excluded from school until symptoms improve, or a health care provider has determined that the student can return. Click on each symptom below to view additional information.
Symptoms
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General Illness
If a student is unable to participate in routine activities or needs more care than can be provided by the school staff, they are unusually tired, have uncontrolled coughing, unexplained irritability, persistent crying, difficulty breathing, wheezing or other unusual signs for the student.
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Fever
An elevation of body temperature over 100o F and accompanied by behavior changes, stiff neck, difficulty breathing, rash, sore throat and/or other signs or symptoms of illness; or is unable to participate in routine activities. Measure temperature before giving medication to reduce fever. Ear and forehead temperatures are not recommended because of inconsistent and inaccurate results. Each manufacturer may have different temperature ranges, which makes setting standards difficult.
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Diarrhea or Vomiting
The student should stay home for 24 hours after the last episode of diarrhea or vomiting.
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COVID
Shakopee Public Schools follows general exclusion guidelines which states that students and staff that have symptoms of illness such as fever over 100F, persistent cough, shortness of breath, are unusually tired, vomiting, diarrhea, etc. should stay home until they are fever free for 24 hours (without medication), or 24 hours after the last bout of vomiting/diarrhea, and other symptoms are improving and they feel well enough to be in school.
There may be cases of COVID that are asymptomatic (no symptoms) and therefore, Shakopee Public Schools continues to encourage handwashing, regular cleaning of classrooms, etc.
When there are multiple known positive cases of COVID in an elementary classroom, the health services team may notify families of possible exposure. Additionally, Shakopee Public Schools regularly monitors absence rates and is required to report outbreaks (e.g. influenze, COVID) if they occur.
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Rash with Fever or Behavior Change
If the student has a rash that may be disease related or if the cause is unknown they should stay home. Rashes that are accompanied by a fever or behavior changes should be evaluated by a healthcare professional before returning to school.
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Eye Drainage
No exclusion, unless the child has a fever or is not healthy enough to participate in routine activities. Antibiotics or a note from a health care provider are not required.
Attendance Lines
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Please contact your child's school as soon as possible if they will be absent due to an illness. Click here for a full list of school attendance lines. Depending on the symptoms that are reported, a school nurse may call the parent/guardian to offer additional guidance.
