More schools allowing mildly sick kids
Growing absence levels could set students back
During the pandemic, schools urged parents and children to stay home at any sign of illness.
But post-pandemic, widely varying guidance on when to keep children home has caused confusion, which many see as a factor in the nationwide epidemic of chronic school absences. Some advocates and school systems — and the state of California — are now encouraging kids to come to class even when they have the sniffles or other nuisance illnesses like lice or pinkeye.
Families need to hear they no longer must keep kids home at any sign of illness, said Hedy Chang, the executive director of Attendance Works. The national nonprofit aimed at improving attendance has issued its own guidance, urging parents to send kids to school if they can participate in daily activities.
“We have to now re-engage kids and families and change their thinking about that,” Chang said.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends staying home when there’s fever, vomiting or diarrhea, or when students “are not well enough to participate in class.”
For those who test positive for COVID-19, the CDC still calls for staying home and isolating for at least five days. But guidance from states and individual schools varies widely. In some school systems, guidance allows for students who test positive to go to school as long as they are asymptomatic.
When schools closed during the pandemic, kids fell behind academically — and continued chunks of school absences have made it harder for them to catch up. So some authorities have re-evaluated their tolerance for illness. During the 2021-2022 school year, more than a quarter of students missed at least 10 percent of the school year, up from 15 percent before the pandemic.
The state of California, where 25 percent of students last year missed 10 percent of the school year, took a new approach to sick-day guidance this fall. Instead of only saying when a child should stay home, the guidance describes circumstances when a child might be slightly unwell but can come to school.
Overall, students should stay home when their symptoms “prevent them from participating meaningfully in routine activities.” But coming to school with diarrhea is all right as long as a child can make it to the toilet in time. Going to school with mild cold symptoms, sore throat, mild rash or pinkeye are all “OK.”
What’s more, California doesn’t insist on waiting 24 hours after a fever or vomiting before returning to school. Going fever-free or without vomiting overnight is enough.