Illnesses/Diseases/Allergies

In This Section

Hitchcock ISD's health services team works with campus nurses, the CDC, and our local health department to keep students healthy and in class. Below you'll find guidance on communicable disease, action plans for chronic conditions, and resources for families.

When to Keep Your Child Home

A student with a temperature of 100 degrees or higher should stay home and remain fever-free for 24 hours, without fever-reducing medicine, before returning to school.

Under Texas Administrative Code, Title 25, Chapter 97, Rule 97.7, a campus administrator may exclude a student who has, or is suspected of having, a communicable disease. A student may return once:

A physician, advanced practice nurse, or physician assistant certifies the student no longer shows signs or symptoms, or that the disease isn't contagious in a school setting.
The local health authority issues a permit for readmission.
The student meets readmission criteria set by the Commissioner of Health.

CDC – Preventing Spread of Infections in K-12 Schools
https://www.cdc.gov/children-and-school-preparedness/infection-prevention/index.html

Illnesses

Flu

Ebola Virus

Bacterial Meningitis

Diseases

Asthma

Diabetes

Seizures

Bloodborne Pathogens

Scabies

Allergies

Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis

Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis

Other

Lice

Lice

Head lice are common in schools and don't reflect on a family's hygiene or care. Here's how Hitchcock ISD handles it:

If the school nurse finds live lice, we'll contact you right away with treatment information, and a notice goes home to the rest of the classroom the same day. Your child can typically stay at school for the rest of that day. Treatment should start that evening, and your child can return to school the following day — they'll just need to stop by the nurse's office first for a quick, confidential check.

If treatment doesn't take hold after a couple of rounds, we'll ask for a receipt from a professional treatment or a note from a healthcare provider before your child returns, just to make sure the infestation has actually cleared.

For more on treatment and prevention at home, visit the Texas DSHS guide to managing head lice.

Read the full Hitchcock ISD Head Lice Protocol for details on notification timelines and classroom cleaning procedures.

Communicable Disease Control

In accordance with Texas Administrative Code Title 25 Part 1 Chapter 97 rule 97.7, the school administrator shall exclude from attendance any child having or suspected of having a communicable disease designated by the Commissioner of Health (commissioner) as cause for exclusion until one of the criteria listed in subsection c) of this section is fulfilled.

(1) submitting a certificate of the attending physician, advanced practice nurse, or physician assistant attesting that the child does not currently have signs or symptoms of a communicable disease or to the disease's non-communicability in a school setting

(2) submitting a permit for readmission issued by a local health authority; or

(3) meeting readmission criteria as established by the commissioner.

Texas Diseases and Conditions