Sometimes it can be challenging to determine when your student should stay home from school and when it is appropriate for them to return following an illness. If you are in doubt, do not hesitate to contact your school nurse for guidance. 

If your student exhibits one or more of the following symptoms, they should stay home for at least one day:

• Fever – equal to or greater than 100.0°F
• Vomiting
• Diarrhea

Students may return to school once their symptoms have improved AND they have been fever-free without fever-reducing medication for at least 24 hours. Additionally, they need to have not vomited for at least 24 hours.  Other reasons to keep your student home include:

• Persistent abdominal pain/ stomach ache
• Undiagnosed rash
• Inflamed eye(s)

If your student has been diagnosed with either of the following, they can return to school once they have completed 24-hours of the prescribed treatment:

• Strep Throat
• Pink eye (bacterial conjunctivitis)

If your student tests positive for influenza or COVID, they may return to school:

• when their symptoms have improved AND they have been fever-free without fever-reducing medication for at least 24 hours.

PA Department of Health regulations require families to provide proof of immunization on or before the first day of school or risk their child’s exclusion from school. The regulations are intended to ensure that children attending school are adequately protected against potential outbreaks of preventable diseases.

Children in ALL grades (K-12) need the following vaccines:

• Four (4) doses of tetanus, diphtheria, and acellular pertussis* (1 dose on or after 4th birthday)
• Four (4) doses of polio (4th dose on or after 4th birthday, and at least 6 months after previous dose given)**
• Two (2) doses of measles, mumps, and rubella*** (given after 12 months of age)
• Three (3) doses of hepatitis B
• Two (2) doses of varicella (chickenpox), or evidence of immunity

 *Usually given as DTaP, DTP, DT, Td.  Pertussis for all grade levels is new.

**4th dose not necessary if 3rd dose administered at age 4 or older, and at least 6 months after previous dose.

***Usually given as MMR

Additional immunization requirements for attendance for children in 7th and 12th grades:

• One (1) dose of tetanus, diphtheria, acellular pertussis (Tdap)
• Two (2) doses of meningococcal conjugate vaccine (MCV)
• 1st dose given at 11-15 years of age; 2nd dose required at age 16, or entry into 12th grade
• If the dose was given at 16 or older, only one dose is required.

Exemptions to school law for immunization:

• Medical reasons
• Religious beliefs
• Philosophical/strong moral or ethical conviction

If a child is exempt, he or she may be removed from school during an outbreak/health emergency. 

For additional information on Pennsylvania’s school immunization requirements, visit the Pennsylvania Department of Health website at www.health.pa.gov or contact your child’s school nurse. The PA State Immunization code can be found by clicking here.

Board Policy 203 Immunizations and Communicable Diseases

A private medical examination of every student is required upon entry into school and again in grades six and eleven. A private dental exam are required upon entry to school and again in grades three and seven. Parents are responsible for providing this information to the school nurse. An option will be made available for your student to see the school physician and/or dentist if you do not provide a private exam form.

• Physical Exam Form
• Dental Exam Form

The major responsibility for specific medications belongs to the student’s parents. On occasion, a student may require a specific medication during the school day. In order to provide proper care and protection for all students, the following method of administering medicine in school shall be followed:

1. All medications (prescription, and over-the-counter medications, administered at school require written permission of both the student’s physician and parent. The Medication Permission Form is available on both the PVSD and individual school building websites. Permission slips must be completed each school year.
2. No medication should be in the student’s possession (pocket, lunch, purse/handbag, or backpack). All medications are to be delivered directly to the nurse’s office by a parent/guardian, and kept in the health room unless otherwise designated by the school nurse.
3. Nonprescription medication must be brought to school in its original container and labeled with the student’s name.
4. Prescription medication must be brought to school in its original container by the parent/guardian. Medication will be counted by the nurse in the presence of a parent or the medication will not be accepted. Medication must be clearly labeled with:
   • Name, address, telephone and federal DEA (Drug Enforcement Agency) number of pharmacy
   • Student’s Name
   • Name of Medication and amount dispensed
   • Directions for use (dosage, frequency, time to be given, route, special instructions)
   • Name and registration number of licensed prescriber.
   • Prescription serial number
   • Date originally filled 
   • Controlled substance statement, if applicable.
5. All medications shall be administered by the Certified School Nurse or by other licensed school health staff (RN/LPN).
6. If a student requires medicines two or three times a day, it is recommended that he/she/they receive it at home in the morning before school and when he/she/they returns home at the end of the school day. When a student requires medication(s) several times during the school day the student may be considered too ill to be in school.
7. A parent may come to school at any time to administer medication to his/her/their child.
8. Parents must pick up medication(s) from school at the end of the school year or medication(s) will be disposed of accordingly.

Medications at School Permission Form

Health services for all students include: and annual vision screening, an annual growth screening (height, weight, body mass index calculation), and a hearing screening in grades K, 1, 2, 3, 7 and 11. Screenings for scoliosis occur in sixth and seventh grades. A comprehensive health record is kept on every student.

The following procedure must be followed if a student becomes ill at school:

1. The student must report to the nurse. Under NO circumstances should a student go to the bathroom to deal with his/her/their illness on his/her/their own.
2. If the nurse is not available, the student must report to the main office.
3. A parent/guardian will be called by the nurse if the nurse determines the student is too ill to remain in school or has a temperature of 100°F and above, or vomiting or diarrhea. It is recommended that a parent or designee pick up the student within an hour of being notified by the nurse.
4. The student must be fever free for 24 hours without the use of medications (i.e. Tylenol or Advil), and 24 hours without vomiting or diarrhea before returning to school.

A student must be signed out in the main office and may never leave without being signed out by a parent/guardian.

School nurses will care for students with illnesses and injuries occurring during the school day. A student will be sent home if his/her/their temperature is 100 degrees or above, vomiting and/or diarrhea. The student should not return the following day. A student will be excluded from school according to the Office of Public Health Guidelines. Parents should have a plan in place to pick their child up within one hour of being notified by the school nurse.

Board Policy 210 Emergeny Care

In order to safeguard the school community from the spread of certain communicable diseases, the District requires that guidance and orders from state and local health officials, established Board policy and administrative regulations, and Board-approved health and safety plans be followed by students, parents/guardians and district staff.

Students who have been diagnosed by a physician or are suspected of having a disease by the school nurse shall be excluded from school for the period indicated by regulations of the PA Department of Health or guidance from state or local health officials for certain specified diseases and infectious conditions as described below:

• Diphtheria. Two weeks from the onset or until appropriate negative culture tests.
• Measles. Four days from the onset of a rash. Exclusion may also be ordered by the Department as specified in § 27.160 (relating to special requirements for measles).
• Mumps. Nine days from the onset or until subsidence of swelling.
• Pertussis. Three weeks from the onset or 5 days from the institution of appropriate antimicrobial therapy.
• Rubella. Four days from the onset of a rash.
• Chickenpox. Five days from the appearance of the first crop of vesicles, or when all the lesions have dried and crusted, whichever is sooner.
• COVID-19: Term of isolation or quarantine, as well as required and recommended personal protection and mitigation measures, to be determined by the requirements established by the Montgomery County Office of Public Health and the Perkiomen Valley School District approved Health and Safety Plan.
• Respiratory streptococcal infections including scarlet fever. At least 10 days from the onset if no physician is in attendance or24 hours after institution of appropriate antimicrobial therapy.
• Infectious conjunctivitis (pink eye). Until judged non-infectious; that is, without a discharge.
• Ringworm. The person shall be allowed to return to school, child care or other group setting immediately after the first treatment, if body lesions are covered. Neither scalp nor body lesions that are dried need to be covered.
• Impetigo contagiosa. Twenty-four hours after the institution of appropriate treatment.
• Pediculosis capitis . The person shall be allowed to return to either the school, child care or other group setting immediately after first treatment.
• Pediculosis corpora. After completion of the appropriate treatment.
• Scabies. After completion of the appropriate treatment.
• Trachoma. Twenty-four hours after the institution of appropriate treatment.
• Tuberculosis. Following a minimum of 2 weeks adequate chemotherapy and three consecutive negative morning sputum smears, if obtainable. In addition, a note from the attending physician that the person is noncommunicable shall be submitted prior to readmission.
• Neisseria meningitides. Until judged non-infectious after a course of rifampin or other drug which is effective against the nasopharyngeal carriage state of this disease, or until otherwise shown to be noninfective.

A student will be excluded from school according to the Office of Public Health Guidelines for any infectious disease. Parents/Guardians of a student needing to be excluded shall be notified and required to come to school or have a designated emergency contact come to school to transport the student home or to an appropriate place of care. Students may return to school when the criteria for readmission following a communicable disease, as set forth in law, regulations or guidance from state or local health officials, have been met.

Board Policy 203 Immunizations and Communicable Diseases

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