The school follows the recommendations of the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Public Health Association in requiring your child to be kept at home when any of the following indicators of illness exist:
- Fever > 100.5
- Rash with fever, behavior changes, or with symptoms that are new or undiagnosed
- Infection of the eyes
- Vomiting
- Diarrhea
Students exhibiting such symptoms should be kept home until symptoms have not been present for 24 hours.
Many other illnesses require that students be excluded from school for various time periods, because the illness is of a contagious nature. These include, but are not limited to, strep throat, influenza, chicken pox, and colds. If you have any questions, contact your physician for guidance in determining when your child should return to school after an illness.
Illnesses or accidents occurring during school hours will be reported to the main office and parents will be notified immediately when necessary. Any of the following may occur in response to a child’s illness/accident:
- Parent or guardian will be asked to pick up the student from school
- If parent or guardian cannot be reached, other people listed on student’s Emergency Form will be called to request pick-up from school
- Medication will be given if deemed appropriate, and if the requirements listed under “Medications” have been fulfilled
- The sick child will be isolated and given rest
- In an emergency, the school will call 911
Required Medical Forms
The following items must be turned in or updated before the first day of school. Students for whom we do not have these items will not be allowed to attend school until they are turned in or completed.
- Current immunization records or signed exemption form
- Medical forms and medications (see below)
- Updated emergency cards
- For students requiring prescription medication at school, parents must also schedule an individual appointment with the school nurse to review the forms, physician’s paperwork, and medication. This meeting must take place before the first day of school in addition to forms being submitted.
Medications
FRCS meets state requirements for dispensing medication to students at school, including utilizing a Registered Nurse. This nurse is responsible for the training, delegating, and oversight of all school personnel who dispense medication and is responsible for ensuring that FRCS is in compliance with all aspects of medication dispensing as outlined in the Delegatory Clause of the Colorado Nurse Practice Act.
While the school works toward meeting student needs in this area, parents also play a big role. A Health Assessment form must be completed each year for each student and must be submitted to the school office. If you would like your child to be able to receive medication at school, you must complete, and also ask your child’s physician to complete, the Request to Dispense Medication forms. There are two different forms for this: Prescription Medication and Over-the-Counter Medication. We want to emphasize that each of these forms is only for a certain medication, for a specific symptom, or condition and for a specified length of time.
After the required paperwork has been submitted to the school office, the following requirements must also be met for any medication that will be dispensed at school:
- The medication must be in the original, unopened container and the parent must provide a metered measuring utensil
- Medications and utensils cannot be shared, even among family members
- Prescription medication labels must include: student’s name, doctor’s name, pharmacy name and phone number, date the prescription was filled, name of the medication, the dose, frequency, and duration; all this information must be in agreement with the doctor’s orders on the school’s Request to Dispense Medication form
- Over-the-counter medication bottle directions must reflect the accompanying doctor’s orders, or be labeled by a pharmacy
- Parents must provide a bottle of the over-the-counter medication, labeled with your child’s name, so it will only be used for your child
Elementary students are not allowed to carry their own medicine, however, there are specific requirements regarding rescue medicine; these can be found on the FRCS website. If your child is seen carrying or taking any medicine (including cough drops) the staff has been instructed to take the medication from the child. The medication will be kept in the school office, and parents will be asked to pick it up within five days. If the medication is not picked up, the school nurse will dispose of it.
There are certain medications that the school cannot administer, even with a written order. These include experimental drugs, homeopathic remedies, rectal medications, and injectable medications (such as insulin).
