Attendance

Parents/ guardians, please remember to notify the school when your child will be absent. 

Please contact your child’s school nurse if you have any questions or concerns, and refer to our clinical guidelines below.

School Attendance

All schools have an answering machine which takes calls outside of normal school hours. Please include your child's name, homeroom number or teacher's name, and reason for absence when leaving a message. Thank you!

OUR CLINICAL GUIDELINES

Bacterial Conjunctivitis (also known as "Pink Eye")
The child must have 24 hours of antibiotic treatment before returning to school.

Diarrhea/Vomiting
A child with diarrhea and/or vomiting should stay at home and return to school only after being symptom-free for 24 hours without the use of anti-vomiting or anti-diarrheal medication. 

Fever
If a child is not feeling well before school, the parent should check his/her temperature. A child should not be sent to school with a fever. A child with a temperature of 100 degrees F (37.7 degrees C) or higher will be sent home from school. The child must remain home for the next full school day fever free without fever reducing medication for 24 hours before he/she returns to school.

Head Lice

Ashland Public Schools supports the recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Centers for Disease Control, and the National Association of School Nurses in the management of head lice in the school setting. If a child at school is found to have live lice, the student may be sent home immediately for treatment at the discretion of the building nurse. The student must be treated and free of live lice prior to returning to school. When the child returns, the building nurse will assess the student's hair for evidence of treatment. If the nurse deems it appropriate, a parent will be asked to accompany the child to school for this assessment.

Note that, in accordance with the American Academy of Pediatrics and the CDC, Ashland Public Schools does not participate in whole classroom screenings, exclusion for nits, or notification to anyone other than parents/guardians of students with head lice.

View our APS Lice Brochure. 

Impetigo
A child must be on prescription medication for 24 hours before returning to school.  Weeping sores should be lightly covered with a dressing until they are crusted over and dried up completely. 

Strep Throat
A child must remain out of school until the culture results are known. If the result is positive, the child must be on antibiotics for 24 hours before returning to school.

Student's Requiring Crutches or Braces:
Students who become injured and require crutches or hard splints/braces/casts must have a physician's letter stating the reason for the need of the equipment and for how long the equipment will be required.  Students who are utilizing durable medical equipment should sit out from physical activity (both PE class and recess) at school until the brace or crutches are no longer required, and a clearance letter for participation in physical activity is provided by the physician. 

Guidelines for handling other conditions are at the discretion of the school nurse.