Student Health FAQ

Your school nurse will call you under any of the following circumstances:

• Your child is injured at school and needs follow-up care at home.
• Your child has a fever, vomits or has diarrhea.
• Your child has an injury involving the neck or head no matter how minor it seems.
• Your child requests the school nurse to call you.

For any medication — prescription or nonprescription — to be administered during the school day, a written order must be on file from your physician detailing the medication, the dosage and the time intervals at which the medication must be given. The required form to use is District 401's Medication in School Form. You and your physician must fill out and sign this form, which is available on our website (click the previous link) and at the school office.

You must submit a Medication in School Form even if the medication your child needs to take is nonprescription such as Tylenol or Ibuprofen. Board Policy 7:270, "Administering Medicines to Students," states:

No School District employee shall administer to any student, or supervise a student's self-administration of, any prescription or nonprescription medication until a completed and signed "School Medication Authorization Form" is submitted by the student's parent/guardian. No student shall possess or consume any prescription or nonprescription medication on school grounds or at a school-related function other than as provided for in this policy and its implementing procedures.

The proper form to use is the Medication in School Form.

With the exception of an epinephrine auto-injector (EpiPen) or asthma medication to be self-administered by the student, all medications must be delivered personally by the parent to a school representative in a container, properly labeled by a pharmacy or a physician.

As stated in Board Policy 7:270, nothing in the District’s policy shall prohibit any school employee from providing emergency assistance to students, including administering medication.

Yes to both questions. You and your doctor will need to fill out and sign the Medication in School Form, which must be submitted to your school's main office. Once the authorization form is on file, your child may self-administer the prescribed asthma medication.

You should also complete an asthma action plan. You can find a downloadable copy of one here. All action plans should be submitted to the school nurse.

For more information see Board Policy 7:270, which governs self-administration of medication.

Yes to both questions. You and your doctor will need to fill out and sign the Medication in School Form, which must be submitted to your school's main office. Once the authorization form is on file, your child may self-administer the prescribed auto-injector. Board Policy 7:270 governs self-administration of medication.

You should notify both the school nurse and your child’s classroom teacher(s) about any food allergies your child has. You should also work with your school nurse to determine a food allergy emergency action plan. You can find a downloadable copy of such a plan here. Our procedures for managing food allergies are governed by Board Policy 7:285, "Food Allergy Management Program."

Yes. You should keep your child at home from school until he or she has remained fever free without medication for 24 hours.

Yes. You should keep your child home until the diarrhea stops, and he or she hasn't thrown up for at least 24 hours.

Yes. All students who are absent for five or more consecutive days due to illness will be required to bring a note from the doctor to be allowed back to school. We recommend that you use the District’s Return to School Form. You can find a downloadable copy here.

Yes, you may write it. If a student cannot participate in PE, a parent/guardian may write a note for the student to sit out of PE for up to three days. Please indicate the reason why. After three days a physician’s note is required.

Yes. The school nurse may decide to notify other parents in the school (without giving out your child’s name) so they will be aware. Also, the more information our nurse has about illnesses going around the school, the better prepared she will be to help all of our students.

That information is available at each school website and at the D401 home site under "Health Services" in the main dropdown menu:

• Health Exams & Immunizations

Those copies are available at each school website and at the D401 home site under "Health Services" in the main drop-down menu:

• Health Forms