Illness Policy

Guidelines for Excluding Children with Illness: 

To ensure the health of our community, it is Temple Sinai Preschool's policy that children must stay home if they exhibit the following symptoms or conditions. Children should be excluded from attending preschool for the following reasons (this list covers the most common illnesses, but is not inclusive of all reasons for exclusion):

• Illness that prevents the child from participating comfortably in preschool activities, including lethargy, behavioral changes, irritability and/or difficulty breathing.
• Illness that results in a greater need for care than our staff can provide.
• Respiratory Illnesses and Colds: If mucus is profuse and cannot be controlled by normal wiping, the child will be excluded at TSP’s discretion. A child will also be excluded if the runny nose is associated with a fever, an infected throat, persistent cough or general irritability.
• Fever of 99.5 degrees and above.  Children must be fever-free for 24 hours before returning to school.
• Persistent Cough, with or without fever. 
• Vomiting
• Diarrhea (more than one loose stool).
• Mouth Sores not associated with drooling.
• Rash, unless a physician has determined it is not a communicable disease.
• Purulent Conjunctivitis (defined as pink or red conjunctiva with white or yellow eye discharge) until the child has been on antibiotics for 24 hours.
• Impetigo until 24 hours after treatment.
• Strep Throat until 24 hours after treatment
• Head Lice until after treatment and all nits are removed.
• Scabies until 24 hours after treatment has begun.
• Chickenpox, until all lesions have dried and crusted (usually 6 days).
• Pertussis (whooping cough) until 5 days of appropriate antibiotics.
• Hepatitis A virus until one week after onset of illness, after immune globulin has been administered.

We will send children home (or call an emergency contact) when they exhibit any of the above symptoms. Children must remain home for 24 hours without symptoms before returning to school. In the case of a suspected contagious disease or continuing symptoms, a doctor's note is required before your child is permitted to return to school. As soon as your doctor determines that your child has a communicable disease, please inform the Preschool immediately.

Excluded children may return when: 

• They are free of fever, vomiting and diarrhea for a full 24 hours.
• They have been treated with an antibiotic for a full 24 hours.
• They are able to participate comfortably in all usual preschool activities, including outdoor time.
• The child is free of open, oozing skin conditions and drooling unless:
• A health-care provider signs a note stating that the child's condition is not contagious, and
• The involved areas can be covered by a bandage without seepage or drainage through the bandage.
• If a child is excluded because of a reportable communicable disease, a doctor's note stating that the child is no longer contagious and may return is required.

The final decision about whether a child is excluded will be made the Director.