Student Handbook
Required Immunizations & Health
Required Immunizations
State law requires that all students under age 18 years, pre-kindergarten through grade 12, be immunized against certain diseases unless they are exempt for medical reasons. At the time of registration, the school is required to have proof that your child has received all currently due immunizations. Your child may be excluded from attending school if these requirements are not met. California law requires all children enrolled in state schools, both public and private, to have certain doctor-recommended immunizations, or receive them when they enroll.
Immunizations required for entering Kindergarten:
- Polio
- Diphtheria, Tetanus, and Pertussis (DTaP)
- Measles, Mumps, and Rubella (MMR)
- Hepatitis B
- Varicella (Chickenpox)
Immunization required for 7th grade:
- Tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis booster (Tdap)
- Measles, Mumps, and Rubella (MMR)
Kindergarten Physical Exam
- California’s Child Health and Disability Prevention (CHDP) program requires every child to have a physical examination before entering school in kindergarten.
Parents /guardians are required to present a report of examination or a waiver statement to the school within 91 days of entry to first grade. - Students who have not met this requirement by the appropriate date may be excluded from school attendance for up to five days. Parents/guardians needing assistance meeting the requirements can call 619-692-8808. You are encouraged to complete this exam at kindergarten entry to make sure your child is healthy and ready to learn.
K-1 Dental Exam (OHA)
- An Oral Health Assessment (dental examination) by a licensed California dental health
professional is required for children entering public school for the first time (at kindergarten or first grade). The Oral Health Assessment must be completed and returned to the school by May 31 of that first school year. Assessments done 12 months prior to school entry also meet this requirement. Obtain the form from the school or your dental health provider to complete.
When to keep sick students at home
When to keep sick students at home
Students with:
- Fever greater than 100.5
- Cough and difficult breathing
- Rash that is undiagnosed
- Diarrhea
- Vomiting
- Ringworm
- Impetigo
- Cold sores
- Communicable Diseases (chicken pox)
Students with above symptoms must be absent for at least 24 hours prior to returning to school.
Guidelines for parents of sick children – from the American Academy of Pediatrics:
When deciding whether to keep your sick child out of child care or school, the two most important things to think about are:
- 1. Does the child’s illness keep him/her from comfortably taking part in activities?
- 2. Does the sick child need more care than the staff can give without affecting the health and safety of other children?If the answer to either of these questions is yes, then the child should not go to child care or school. If he/she is sent to child care or school, then the caregiver or teacher may not let the child stay.
A third question to ask is:
- 3. Could other children get sick from being near your child?
Most common illnesses, like a cold, are not really harmful. Other children can catch illnesses before, during, or after your child is sick. Making a sick child stay home may not really prevent other children from getting sick.
Lice Policy
LICE POLICY
The problem of head lice (pediculosis) is ongoing and can be time consuming. Even though head lice are not a threat to health, they are a frustrating nuisance. Prompt treatment of student(s) with a positive diagnosis of head lice ensures minimal disruption of their educational program. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention does not require health providers, schools or public health departments to report lice infestations because the insects do not spread diseases.
Exclusion
When a student is initially identified as having live head lice, the student is to be excluded from school at the end of the school day for treatment.
Treatment
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends starting with an over-the-counter product and moving to prescription-strength shampoos if the initial treatment does not work.
Apply head lice treatment (over the counter or prescription) specifically made for killing head lice. Follow the directions on the label as recommended by the manufacturer. After the hair has been treated, all eggs should be combed, using a special delousing comb or hand-picked from the hair.
To prevent re-infestation, it is essential to inspect the hair daily for one week. Continually strip any nits you may have missed by running your fingernails down the hair shaft. Although complete removal of nits is time consuming, it is necessary.
Alternative Treatment Options
Occlusive agents, essential oils, and electronic combs are among the alternative treatment for head lice, but NOT conclusively evaluated for safety and effectiveness. Occlusive agents are applied to the hair and scalp with the intent of suffocating the lice. These products have not been proven to be effective but are commonly used.
Occlusive agents include mayonnaise, tub margarine, herbal oils, olive oil, melted butter, vinegar and petroleum jelly. Treatment with petroleum jelly overnight may be effective but can leave a residue in the hair that requires many washings to remove.1
Readmission
After treatment at home, it’s mandatory to return to school the next day via the health office, for inspection. Parents must be notified that students who return to school with live lice will be sent home. As such, parents are advised to accompany their child to school. Upon checking the head, if live lice are found, the child returns home with parent for treatment. If child has been treated and there are no live lice, the child may return to class. We encourage the removal of nits but child can return to class if they have been treated, even though nits are still present.
Recurrent Re-infestations
If a child has untreated or recurrent infestations, then the nurse and parent must work together to find the likely source of re-infestation and solve that problem by:
- Education of parent using written materials and verbal instructions.
- Referral to child’s primary care doctor regarding pediculocide resistance.
- Mechanical (manual) removal of all nits, although time consuming, is essential. Regularly using a delousing comb can keep infestations from reoccurring.
- Assistance of community agencies or social service agencies, if appropriate, for assistance with infestation management.
- Mass screening (school-wide or whole classrooms) is not an evidence-basedpractice in controlling head lice infestation/re-infestations. It is the responsibilityof the parent to treat head lice infestation. Key to success in controlling head lice, with small chance of recurrence, is in the removal of all nits after the use of the pediculocide. Although students are allowed back to class with any reportedly treated hair when there are no live lice, encourage parents to continue removing nits until the problem is resolved. Again, regularly using a delousing comb can keep infestations from reoccurring.
For questions or more information, contact the school-site nurse.
- Frankowski BL, Bocchini JA, Jr. Head lice. Pediatrics. Aug 2010;126(2):392-403.