reminder notes

I made copies of our district's health guidelines and keep them next to the book where the parents sign their children out. I'll usually hand one to the parent when they pick them up.

(Before I made copies, I also put stars next to the part about fevers and vomiting since those are the most common violations.)

I remind them as they walk out the door. I wish we could tell them to set their alarm on their phone, that way if they are going to lie, they at least will have the earliest allowable time.

My district has a "Guidelines for Staying Home" handout that I give out when kids are sent home. It lists different reasons for staying home and going to school in a chart format and basically states that if kids come to school sick they can get others sick and to follow these guidelines.

Stay Home: Fever off 100.6 or above, throwing up or vomiting, uncontrollable diarrhea, etc.

May Go to School: Fever free for 24 hours without Tylenol, free from vomiting for 24 hours and able to hold down food, free from diarrhea for 12 hours, etc.

I normally highlight whichever category relates to the reason the kid is going home.

I also have made copies of the page from our health manual and hand that out.

We enter absences into the computer when we send someone home, so we also excuse an absence for the following day. If the student ends up coming back to school, the teacher cannot override our entry, so they call us to change it, and we then can get the student into the health room and recheck them.

I escort the child to the office and tell the parent the policy and hand them a note.

This is my fever note, I also have one for vomiting & diarrhea......

Please be aware that your student is being sent home today with a temperature over 100 degrees. According to FISD Policy, students must be kept out of school until they are fever-free for at least 24 hours without the aid of fever-reducing medications such as Tylenol (acetaminophen) or Motrin (ibuprofen). 2015-16 FISD Elementary Student Handbook pg. 24

Please help us prevent the spread of communicable diseases by following this policy

I often tell parents when I make attendance calls, and when I see kids out the door if I send them home. Sometimes send a note home with them, too. I put it in the school newsletter every other month or so. And it's in the school handbook.

Even still, I had two kiddos come back to school less than 24 hours after the fever/vomiting I sent them home for the previous day and both parents said - Oh...I didn't know about that rule.

Baloney.

i do the same as MrNurse - i remind them verbally at pick up. Usually they don't violate if reminded verbally. and i try to look at attendance the next day and catch any violators. It only takes once or twice to inconvenience then to have to pick up their child that way miraculously "fine" once they got home. Amazingly, those children (especially if they are famous malingerers) seem to stop coming so much and asking to be sent home if you do that.

That is exactly what I have in mind. Thanks.

I do both usually, hand them a note with the policy, and remind them verbally.

My school has no official policy on illness, believe it or not. But I tell parents verbally that is my recommendation when they pick up their kiddo. But I have no policy to back it up.

Unless you're aiming for the end of the year "Perfect Attendance" certificate, where, in such a case it's OK come to school if you're contagious.

That's pretty lenient...