Common Childhood Illness Exclusion

A child should be temporarily excluded from an education or child care setting when the child’s illness causes one or more of the following:

1. Prevents the child from participating comfortably in activities.
2. A need for care that is greater than the staff can provide without compromising the health and safety of other children.
3. An acute change in behavior: lethargy, lack of responsiveness, irritability, persistent crying, difficulty breathing, or a quickly spreading rash.
4. Fever with behavior change or other signs and symptoms in a child older than 2 months (e.g., sore throat, rash, vomiting, diarrhea).
   1. For infants younger than 2 months of age, a fever with or without a behavior change or other signs and symptoms.
   2. A child with a temperature elevated above normal is not necessarily an indication of a significant health problem
   3. A fever is defined as:
      1. For an infant or child older than 2 months, a fever is a temperature that is above 101 degrees F [38.3 degrees C] by any method.
      2. For infants younger than 2 months of age a fever is a temperature above 100.4 degrees F [38 degrees C] by any method
      3. Temperature readings do not require adjustment for the location where the temperature is taken.

Some students may have chronic health conditions or disability that result in the child vomiting and does not indicate that the child is ill. Remember that a symptom alone does not necessarily mean a child must be sent home. In unique situations, the child may have an individualized health plan to address the implementation of delegated interventions to address their needs. Always defer to the individualized plan prior to removing a child from their education program.