Preventive and emergency school-based health services are provided to public school children in grades Pre- Kindergarten through Twelfth. The Health Related Services' Department of Nursing is an important component of student progress and achievement. School Nurses help assure that Houston County's students are healthy in the classroom and ready to learn.

School Nurses enhance health within the school and community by providing health appraisals, nursing assessments, periodic age appropriate vision, hearing and scoliosis screenings. Services also include referral for health or dental care, follow-up of suspected or confirmed health problems, emergency health services, and promoting activities to reduce risk-taking behaviors. School Nurses also collaborate with parents, teachers, social workers, and other health care providers to develop care plans, safety plans, identify available health resources, and identify the need for health referrals to address specific health problems discovered through mandated health screenings and assessments.

Occupational and Physical Therapy is a division of Health-Related Services.  Click here to visit OTPT.

Keep a child at home, if they:

1. Have had a fever* of 100 degrees or higher in the past 24 hours.
2. Are nauseous and/or vomiting and/or have diarrhea.
3. Have been exposed to a contagious disease and are exhibiting signs/symptoms of the disease.
4. Have undiagnosed skin rashes or contagious conditions such as scabies or chicken pox. Students will be excluded from school until the rash is gone or when cleared by a physician for any contagious illness.
5. Have live lice on the scalp. A child will be allowed to attend if only nits are seen.
   

Children who have been at home because of illness should not be brought to school for parties and/or special events.

*A fever refers to a temperature of 100 degrees or more without the use of Tylenol or Advil or other fever reducing medications. The school cannot give aspirin, or products that contain aspirin products. A high occurrence of Reyes Syndrome associated with viral infections and the use of aspirin.

Please refer to the following guidelines when a sick/recovering child returns to school:

1. A child should be fever-free for 24 hours without medication before returning.
2. A child must be diarrhea or nausea/vomiting free for 24 hours without medication (anti-diarrheal or anti-nausea/anti-emetic) before returning.
3. A child with strep throat must be on an antibiotic for 24 hours before returning.
4. A child with possible conjunctivitis (pink eye) must be seen by a doctor and may only return to school with a doctor’s note.
5. A child with chicken pox may only return to school when all lesions have crusted over. Please provide a note from the doctor releasing the student to return to school and to excuse the absence(s).
6. All open, draining, or contagious skin areas (i.e. staph, ringworm, molluscum contagiosum) must be able to be contained by a bandage/covering. Please provide a note from the doctor releasing the student to return to school and to excuse the absence(s).
   
7. A child with scabies will be allowed to return to school the following day after the first treatment.
   
8. A child must not require narcotics to control pain during school hours post procedure or injury.
   
9. A child who tests positive for contagious illnesses such as influenza, RSV, and COVID is recommended to stay home until fever free for 24 hours without medication and symptoms should be significantly improved.

Please send a parent or physician’s note to the homeroom teacher within five days of the absence; otherwise, the absence is unexcused and subject to the truancy regulations.

More information on Health-Related Services can be found in your child's handbook.