When to keep your sick child home from school

Lake Washington School District works with King County Department of Public Health to help protect children from spreading communicable diseases. Keeping children home when they are too sick for school protects other students and staff from potential illness.

Symptoms that child is too sick for school

If your child has any of the following symptoms, please keep him/her home, or make appropriate child care arrangements. It will be necessary to pick your student up from school as soon as possible if he/she shows any of the following symptoms at school:

• Fever: temperature of 100 degrees Fahrenheit or higher. Child must not have a fever for 72 hours before returning to school (without any medications to lower fever). This guidance was updated as of 3/8/2020 related to COVID-19.
• Vomiting: child should not return to school for 24 hours following the last episode of vomiting.
• Lice, scabies: children may not return to school until they have been treated. Children with scabies can be admitted after treatment.
• Diarrhea: more than one watery stool in a 24-hour period, especially if the child acts or looks ill.
• Chronic cough and/or runny nose: continual coughing and excessive nasal discharge. Conditions may be contagious and may require treatment from your health care provider.
• Sore throat: especially with fever or swollen glands in the neck.
• Rash: body rash, especially with fever or itching.
• Ear infection: with fever. Without fever can attend school, but the child may need medical treatment and follow-up. Untreated ear infections can cause permanent hearing loss.
• Eye infection: Eye infection: pink eye (conjunctivitis) or thick mucus or pus draining from eye.
• Unusual appearance, behavior: abnormally tired, pale, lack of appetite, difficult to wake, confused or irritable. This is sufficient reason to exclude a child from school.
• Sick household member: If anyone in your household currently has flu-like symptoms, please keep your child home for 72 hours after that member of your household is symptom-free.