Cherokee Community Schools

Illness

Students with the following symptoms will be sent home:

• Temperature/fever of 100.5 degrees or above (oral) or equivalent (student must be free from temperature, of 100.5 degrees or above, for 24 hours before returning to school)
• Vomiting (student must be free from vomiting for 24 hours before returning to school)
• Diarrhea (student must be free from diarrhea for 24 hours before returning to school)
• Unexplained abdominal pain
• Unexplained skin eruptions or rash
• Swelling, redness, tenderness, discharge of eyes (requires a doctor’s diagnosis and treatment, if needed, or until symptoms are gone)
• Communicable disease (requires a doctor’s diagnosis and treatment, if needed, or until symptoms are gone)
• Any health condition that, in the nurse’s judgment, is of concern for the child’s or other children’s health.  

DISMISSAL PROCEDURE:

1. Parents, or their designee, must be notified before a student is allowed to leave school.
2. Transportation will be approved or arranged by the parent or designee.
3. Teacher and/or office staff will be notified.
4. Parent or designee will sign student out in the office area.

Parent Responsibility

1. Parents will be responsible for communicating information of the classroom teacher or the office staff regarding illnesses, accidents, medication, P.E. restriction, communicable diseases, treatments or pertinent medical and dental information.
2. Parents are also responsible for informing the school of any changes of information on the Health and Emergency cards.

Sports Participation

Your child must take a physical examination and present a signed certificate from a health professional stating they have been examined and can safely play sports. You must also fill out a Questionnaire for Athletic Participation and a Parental Approval & Insurance Waiver. Here are the forms:

Physical Education/Activity Participation

In the event that a student returns to school after an injury or illness, and is unable to participate in physical education or recess, parents are requested to provide a detailed doctor's note releasing the student from restricted or full participation in these activities.  If a note is not given to the health department, the student will be expected to participate as planned.

Student Medication

It is strongly recommended, in the best interest of your child, that parents should bring their child's medication to school rather than send it with their child in his/her book bag. This applies only to those medications that are categorized "controlled substances" such as Ritalin (methylphenidate), Dexadrine, etc.

We realize that this may cause some inconvenience for you, but if you would contact the school nurse or health associate, hopefully we can make arrangements that will be workable for you. If you already practice this safety measure, we thank you for your cooperation!

Medication Administration

If medication is to be administered at school, a school form must be filled out and signed by the parent/guardian. A copy of this form is available at the school office or the school health office. The medication must be in the original container which is labeled by the pharmacy or the manufacturer with the name of the student, name of the medication, time of day which it is to be given, dosage and duration. Over-the-counter medication as provided by parent/guardian such as acetominophen, ibuprofen, cough drops, etc. requires a parent/guardians written permission and must be brought in the original labeled container with specific directions. The school nurse or health associate may determine that an over-the-counter medication--including food supplements and herbals, ordered by a parent, could be detrimental to the student, and thus may refuse to administer it.  

A written record of the medication administration will be kept for each student receiving medication, including : date; student's name; physician or person authorizing the administration; the medication and dosage; signature of the person administering the medication administration time and method and any unusual circumstances, action or omissions.  Medication will be stored in a secured area unless an alternate provision is documented.

Students that have been prescribed inhalers may carry the inhalers with them in school if the appropriate documentation is completed.  The State Department of Health requires a physician’s signature on the required form to allow them to keep their inhaler with them during school.  A copy of this form is available at the school office or the school health office.  Only the school nurse or employee who has successfully completed the medication administration course reviewed by the Iowa Board of Pharmacy Examiners shall have access to the medication. All information relating to a student's medication including record of administration shall be kept confidential.

Accidents & Illness at School

In case a student has an accident or is seriously ill while at school, every attempt will be made to notify the parent, guardian, or designee. If all are unavailable, your child's physician (or dentist if a dental injury) would be contacted for instructions. If that person is unavailable, the school will make whatever arrangements seem necessary, including ambulance transportation to the emergency room if required. Thus it is important that the information on the emergency sheet filled out at registration is accurate and as complete as possible. Parents should notify the school of any change in information contained on this sheet (ie: cell phone numbers, home phone numbers, work phone numbers, emergency contacts, etc.)

Immunizations

A student enrolling for the first time in a school in the district shall submit a certificate of immunization in compliance with the Iowa school immunization law. As this Iowa Immunization law is revised, all students kindergarten through twelfth grade, must update any required immunizations. Students may be exempted from this requirement for medical or religious reasons as outlined in the Iowa Code. If the immunization record is not up to date, the parent/guardian will be notified, and the student will be asked to remain home from school until the immunizations have been given, or the series of immunizations started.

Lice

The following comes from the dept. of heath regarding treatment of lice:

Head lice are a major problem, especially in young children, in both Iowa and in the rest of the country. Field studies of outbreaks indicate that the community is the major site of transmission. Thus, persistent head lice in school-aged children usually reflects a community-wide problem, not necessarily just a school-based outbreak.

Cases of head lice are to be managed on an individual basis. Parents are requested to check young children regularly (weekly). This can be done more thoroughly and frequently than it can be done at school. Parents should assume that lice are present in schools all year.

If head lice are found on a student in school, the parent will be notified and asked to begin treating the child before allowing them to return to school. 

Ideally, treatment consists of two parts. The first part should be seen as a two-week process of daily use of an ordinary shampoo followed by a cream rinse conditioner, along with combing the wet hair with a fine-tooth, regular comb and frequently cleaning the comb on a paper towel between strokes to remove scalp debris and lice. Additional combing with a dandruff or nit comb would be helpful but is not absolutely necessary.

The second part involves the use of therapeutic shampoos which should be used according to label instructions or from recommendations made by a physician or pharmacist. For instance, therapeutic (medicated) shampoos should be utilized on days 1 and 7; and ordinary shampoos followed by cream rinse condition and wet combing on all days (1-14). Efforts at fine tooth combing of wet hair are very important. Wet lice are sluggish and easy to comb out. During the two-week period, the crawling lice forms should decrease in number and size, reflecting progress toward effective treatment.

Finally, the role of nits should be de-emphasized as well. While it would be nice to comb out every nit, this is not always practical. If the above treatment is pursued, however, the live nits are taken care of as they hatch. Nits (egg cases) that are more than 1/4 inch from the scalp have either hatched or are no longer alive.

While the recommended approach to individual treatment is being expanded into a two-week process, the department recommends only minimal attention to environmental areas. This includes laundry of pillow cases, bed linen and clothing worn by the child on the day of diagnosis. Other major cleaning efforts, such as environmental sprays, can be omitted.
At the time of its first recognition in a child, a parent or other adult should screen all household members for the presence of lice, allowing for treatment of all cases in a household at one time. Stopping the ping-pong nature of transmission within households and between neighborhood playmates is much more important in continued transmission than environmental sources at home or school. Lice prefer warm temperatures and want to stay on the body.

Following these guidesolid will result in decreased lice incidence but will not eliminate it entirely.

Pandemic Influenza Response Plan