Exclusions from School

Irving ISD strictly enforces health guidelines related to illness and staying home from school to protect the well-being of students and staff. Maintaining a healthy school environment is a shared responsibility, and success depends on strong collaboration between families, staff members, and the district.

Student and Staff Illness

To help maintain a healthy and safe learning environment, all students and staff should stay home when they are feeling sick. Individuals who arrive at school or work with symptoms of illness may be isolated and sent home. Students and staff should not attend school in the following circumstances:

• Signs of severe illness, including fever, irritability, difficulty breathing, crying that doesn’t stop with the usual comforting, or extreme sleepiness.
• Fever: If your child has a temperature of 100.0°F or above, they should stay home.  An individual must have a temperature below 100.0°F for 24 hours before returning to school without using Tylenol or Ibuprofen and are back to their normal behavior. Be sure to check their temperature before giving any medication.
• Vomiting: Vomiting two or more times in 24 hours, unless a physician feels the cause of vomiting is not an infectious disease and the individual is in no danger of becoming dehydrated. An individual should have one or two meals without vomiting before returning to school. A student or staff member may be sent home from school for vomiting one time.
• Diarrhea: Diarrhea (3 or more episodes of loose stools in 24 hours). An individual must be diarrhea free for 24 hours without the use of diarrhea suppressing medications.
• Cold Symptoms: Runny noses are common, but if the mucus is thick and green, or if your child has a persistent or productive cough, they should stay home. A constant dry cough may signal a more serious issue—consider contacting your child’s doctor.
• Eye Redness or Discharge: Red eyes with itching, burning, yellow or white discharge, or crusted eyelashes may be signs of pink eye (conjunctivitis), which is highly contagious. Your child should stay home until they’ve seen a doctor and been on medication for at least 24 hours.
• Chickenpox: This rash includes small blisters that scab over. Children should stay home until all blisters have scabbed, usually 5–7 days after they first appear.
• Rashes: If your child has a questionable rash, and you’re unsure of the cause, have it checked by a doctor to determine that the rash is not caused by an infectious disease  before sending them to school.
• Sore Throat: A severe or persistent sore throat, especially with fever, white patches on the tonsils, swollen glands, headache, or stomachache, could be strep throat. If diagnosed, your child should stay home until they’ve been on antibiotics for 24 hours and are feeling better.
• Earache: If your child complains of ear pain, keep them home until they’ve been evaluated by a doctor.

The Principal or his/her designee, in collaboration with the school nurse, will notify parents that the student must be excluded for medical reasons.

It is the responsibility of the parent or guardian to transport the student from school to his/her home in a timely manner.

For readmission, some diseases may require a statement from the student’s physician affirming that the student is not contagious.

If you have any questions, please contact your campus nurse.

Please note: Parents must provide a completed Request for Administering Prescription Medication by School Personnel or Request for Administering Over the Counter Medications by School Personnel to the school nurse before the nurse can administer a medication. 

Medication Guidelines for Review: Medication Policy