Reasons for Exclusion from School Due to Illness

Certain conditions require exclusion from school to prohibit the spread of viral and bacterial disease. This is to protect both the uninfected population and the infected person. The school nurse will use his/her professional judgment when assessing the person and judging whether to exclude. 

Students/staff with the following symptoms should be excluded until symptom free or a licensed care professional submits a letter of non-contagious status:

• Fever of 100.4F or more
• Persistent coughing or difficulty breathing 
• Abnormal, discolored nasal drainage
• Any unidentified and/or widespread rash or weeping lesions
• Persistent pain (headache, ear, stomach, throat, etc.)
• Any untreated or suspected cases of conjunctivitis with colored discharge
• Communicable diseases such as Influenza, COVID19, chicken pox, untreated impetigo or scabies
• Vomiting
• Diarrhea

Students may not return to school until they are free from all symptoms for a 24-hour period without medication assistance.

Vision and hearing screenings are provided annually during the school year. Vision screenings are administered by the school nurse or their designee while hearing screenings are completed by the Special School District of St. Louis County.

The following grades are screened annually:

• Vision: Grades 1 and 3 each year, grades 7 and 9 as time permits
• Hearing: Grades 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9 as time permits.

Throughout the school year, vision and hearing screenings may be performed for students with a new IEP or IEP renewal, or upon request. Your school nurse will notify you if your student's screening results are of concern.

Blood pressure, height, and weight may be checked for students upon request.

Physical Exams

Physical exams are requested at enrollment and in fifth-, seventh- and 10th-grades. High school student-athletes are required to submit a physical exam dated after July 1 of the year of participation. These physicals are valid for two years.

Head lice are a common problem, especially among school-aged children and their families. Head lice can be a nuisance but they have not been shown to spread disease. Personal hygiene or cleanliness in the home or school has nothing to do with getting head lice.

If your child has been found to have live lice​ (pediculosis), the parent/guardian will be contacted by school nurse. We recommend that you treat your child that evening.

Lindbergh Schools follows the American Academy of Pediatrics and the CDC guidelines in treating head lice (pediculosis). For more information, please visit www.cdc.gov or www.aap.org.

When a child is identified as having active head lice at school, the child’s parent/guardian is notified and provided with information about treatment. Students will be sent home at the end of the day and may return to school after they have received treatment at home. School nurses will work with families to ensure proper treatment and management of head lice. Lindbergh Schools follows the recommendation of the American Academy of Pediatrics and does not exclude students from school because of head lice or nits.

School nurses will inform parents/guardians when there is an unusual clustering of head lice cases in a particular classroom, grade level, or building. Continued communication and collaboration with the school nurse will reduce the stigma of head lice, clarify myths, and provide accurate information about effective treatment options.

Head Lice Resources

To prevent and control the spread of head lice, the Centers for Disease Control recommends several precautions to avoid situations that may allow head lice to travel from one person to another. Please encourage your child to avoid head-to-head contact during activities and discourage your child from sharing clothing, hair accessories, or combs and brushes with others.  

A question heard frequently is, “Does the nurse check all students in the classroom?”  The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) no longer recommends assessing the entire classroom as it has proven not to minimize or prevent the spread of head lice.  We encourage families to check their child’s head weekly at home. For information on how to check your child’s head for lice you can visit this website:

• HealthyChildren.org  

If you suspect your child is infested with head lice please notify the school nurse. Other members of your family should be inspected for head lice as well. For information on how to treat your child's head lice, consult your family physician, a local pharmacist, or contact the school nurse for recommendations.    

What is Pertussis?

Pertussis is a bacterial illness that is spread through the air by coughing. After someone is infected with pertussis, it takes about 7 to 10 days (range 5 to 21 days) for symptoms to appear. Pertussis may start with cold-like symptoms (i.e., sneezing/runny nose) followed by a cough that can gradually become worse. Others may develop the cough without any cold symptoms at all. Those with pertussis are most contagious during the beginning, cold-like stage and the first 2 weeks after cough onset. The cough usually develops into “coughing fits” which can make one gag or even vomit. Between these “coughing fits” the person appears well. Coughing in very young children may produce a whooping sound due to trying to catch their breaths (rare in older children). There is generally no fever and coughing may last four weeks or longer. Adults, teens and vaccinated children often have milder symptoms that may be confused with bronchitis or asthma. 

What Should I Do?

If your child has symptoms of pertussis, please reach out to your healthcare provider to see if testing is recommended. 

If your child is being tested for pertussis, your child should remain home from school until pertussis can be ruled out or they are no longer contagious. People with pertussis are contagious until they have completed 5 full days of appropriate antibiotic treatment or they have been coughing for 21 days. 

In addition, please make sure your child is up to date on his or her pertussis immunization.