It can be hard to know when to send children to school if they tell you that they do not feel well. In general, the best place for them is in school, but there are some times when keeping them home to rest or calling your health care provider is recommended.

Specifically, please keep your child home if they have these symptoms:

• Fever (100°F / 37.8°C)

• Diarrhea or vomiting in the last 24 hours

• Symptoms that prevent them from participating in school, such as-

  • Excessive tiredness or lack of appetite

  • Productive coughing, sneezing

  • Headache, body aches, earache

  • Severe sore throat

In cases where medication has been prescribed, the first dose should always be given at home, and your child needs to stay home until they have completed 24 hours of the prescribed medication.

Students can return to school when they:

• are fever free (without fever-reducing medicine) for at least 24 hours;

• have gone without vomiting or diarrhea for at least 24 hours; and

• can participate in regular school activities.

Please contact your child’s primary care provider or the school nurse with any questions.

The common cold, RSV, the flu, and COVID-19 all have similar symptoms. Knowing the signs of these respiratory illnesses can help keep you and your loved ones safe.

The district reserves the right to send your child home following evaluation by a school nurse based on these symptoms or others.

*If you feel that your child has symptoms related to COVID-19, we encourage you to conduct an antigen test before sending them to school. Those who test positive for COVID-19 are also encouraged to wear a well-fitting mask for five days after returning to normal activities and/or until they test negative. See below for more information on COVID-19 symptom screening and testing.

When going back to normal activities following a respiratory illness, students should take added precautions over the next five days, especially when they will be around older adults, young children, and those with weakened immune systems. Such precautions include:

• Practicing enhanced hygiene (e.g., covering coughs and sneezes, washing or sanitizing hands often, cleaning frequently touched surfaces)

• Taking steps for cleaner air (e.g., bringing in more fresh outside air, purifying indoor air, gathering outdoors)

• Testing

• Masking

• Physical distancing

Families and staff should regularly check for symptoms before reporting to school or work each day. Students and staff experiencing any of the following symptoms should undergo testing for COVID-19:

• Fever or chills

• Cough

• Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing

• Fatigue

• Muscle or body aches

• Headache

• New loss of taste or smell

• Sore throat

• Congestion or runny nose

• Nausea or vomiting

• Diarrhea

For more information, please see the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Symptoms of COVID-19 webpage.

The Ithaca City School District will continue to make COVID-19 antigen testing available at no cost to families, students, and staff, pending supplies provided by New York State. Nurses can test students and staff who develop symptoms suggestive of COVID-19 during the school day in the school health office. A caregiver may consent to their child being tested at school using this online consent form: Caregiver Consent for Symptomatic COVID-19 Testing (Antigen Testing). If you need a paper form, click here.

Rapid, point-of-care (antigen) test kits for use at home by families and staff will be available, supplies permitting. Each kit includes two tests. 

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which authorizes these tests, has extended the expiration date for several brands of at-home tests. The FDA has a website where it lists all of the authorized at-home test kits. To check if your test is still usable, you'll need the lot number on the box. Click here to find a full list of FDA test expiration extensions.

To keep your child, your family, and all members of the ICSD community healthy, please discuss flu and COVID-19 vaccinations with your child’s healthcare provider,  regularly check your child for symptoms, and encourage good hygiene habits:

• Washing hands for 20 seconds or using hand sanitizer before eating, after using the bathroom, after sneezing or coughing if covering your mouth, and anytime hands are visibly dirty

• Practicing good respiratory etiquette by coughing or sneezing into your  sleeve, elbow, or tissue

• Wearing a well-fitting mask around others while symptomatic