Students with a communicable disease will be allowed to attend school provided their presence does not create a substantial risk of illness or transmission to other students or employees. The term “communicable disease” will mean an infectious or contagious disease spread from person to person, or animal to person, or as defined by law.
Prevention and control of communicable diseases is included in the school District’s bloodborne pathogens exposure control plan. The procedures will include scope and application, definitions, exposure control, methods of compliance, universal precautions, vaccination, post-exposure evaluation, follow-up, communication of hazards to employees and record keeping. This plan is reviewed annually by the superintendent and school nurse.
The health risk to immunodepressed students is determined by their personal physician. The health risk to others in the school District environment from the presence of a student with a communicable disease is determined on a case-by-case basis by the student’s personal physician, a physician chosen by the school District or public health officials.
A student’s parent or guardian shall notify the superintendent or the school nurse when the student learns the student has a communicable disease. It shall be the responsibility of the superintendent, when the superintendent or school nurse, upon investigation, has knowledge that a reportable communicable disease is present, to notify the Iowa Department of Public Health Health data of a student is confidential and it shall not be disclosed to third parties, except in cases of reportable communicable diseases.
It is the responsibility of the superintendent, in conjunction with the school nurse, to develop administrative regulations stating the procedures for dealing with students with a communicable disease.
533.1 Communicable Disease Chart (Concise Descriptions and Recommendations for Exclusion of Cases from School)
| Disease *Immunization is available | Usual Interval Between Exposure and First Symptoms of Disease | Main Symptoms | Minimum Exclusion From School |
| CHICKENPOX* | 13 to 17 days | Mild symptoms and fever. Pocks are “blistery.” Develop scabs, most on covered parts of body. | 7 days from onset of pocks or until pocks become dry |
| CONJUNCTIVITIS (PINK EYE) | 24 to 72 hours | Tearing, redness and puffy lids, eye discharge. | Until treatment begins or physician approves readmission. |
| COVID-19 | 5-6 days, but can be asymptomatic and contagious for up to 14 days | Typical symptoms include fever, cough, and shortness of breath. Atypical symptoms include chills, malaise, sore throat, increased confusion, rhinorrhea or nasal congestion, myalgia, dizziness, headache, nausea, and diarrhea. | 14 days following exposure or and at least 3 days (72 hours) after recovery. |
| ERYTHEMIA INFECTIOSUM (5TH DISEASE) | 4 to 20 days | Usual age 5 to 14 years – unusual in adults. Brief prodrome of low-grade fever followed by Erythemia (slapped cheek) appearance on cheeks, lace-like rash on extremities lasting a few days to 3 weeks. Rash seems to recur. | After diagnosis no exclusion from school. |
| GERMAN MEASLES* (RUBELLA) | 14 to 23 days | Usually mild. Enlarged glands in neck and behind ears. Brief red rash. | 7 days from onset of rash. Keep away from pregnant women. |
| HAEMOPHILUS MENINGITIS | 2 to 4 days | Fever, vomiting, lethargy, stiff neck and back. | Until physician permits return. |
| HEPATITIS A | Variable – 15 to 50 (average 28 to 30 days) | Abdominal pain, nausea, usually fever. Skin and eyes may or may not turn yellow. | 14 days from onset of clinical disease and at least 7 days from onset of jaundice. |
| IMPETIGO | 1 to 3 days | Inflamed sores, with puss. | 48 hours after antibiotic therapy started or until physician permits retune. |
| MEASLES* | 10 days to fever, 14 days to rash | Begins with fever, conjunctivitis, runny nose, cough, then blotchy red rash. | 4 days from onset of rash. |
| MENINGOCOCCAL MENINGITIS | 2 to 10 days (commonly 3 to 4 days | Headache, nausea, stiff neck, fever. | Until physician permits return. |
| MUMPS* | 12 to 25 (commonly 18) days | Fever, swelling and tenderness of glands at angle of jaw. | 9 days after onset of swollen glands or until swelling disappears. |
| PEDICULOSIS (HEAD/BODY LICE) | 7 days for eggs to hatch | Lice and nits (eggs) in hair. | 24 hours after adequate treatment to kill lice and nits. |
| RINGWORM OF SCALP | 10 to 14 days | Scaly patch, usually ring shaped, on scalp. | No exclusion from school. Exclude from gymnasium, swimming pools, contact sports. |
| SCABIES | 2 to 6 weeks initial exposure; 1 to 4 days reexposure | Tiny burrows in skin caused by mites. | Until 24 hours after treatment. |
| SCARLET FEVER SCARLATINA STREP THROAT | 1 to 3 days | Sudden onset, vomiting, sore throat, fever, later fine rash (not on face). Rash usually with first infection. | 24 hours after antibiotics started and no fever. |
| WHOOPING COUGH* (PERTUSSIS) | 7 to 10 days | Head cold, slight fever, cough, characteristic whoop after 2 weeks. | 5 days after start of antibiotic treatment. |
533.2 Reportable Infectious Diseases
While the school district is not responsible for reporting, the following infectious diseases are required to be reported to the state and local public health offices:
- Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS)
- Leprosy
- Rubella (German measles)
- Leptospirosis
- Lyme disease
- Rubeola (measles)
- Amebiasis
- Malaria
- Salmonellosis
- Anthrax
- Meningitis (bacterial or viral)
- Shigellosis
- Botulism
- Tetanus
- Brucellosis
- Mumps
- Toxic Shock Syndrome
- Campylobacteriosis
- Parvovirus B 19 infection (fifth disease and other complications)
- Trichinosis
- Chlamydia trachomatis
- Tuberculosis
- Cholera
- Tularemia
- COVID-19
- Diphtheria
- Typhoid fever
- E. Coli 0157:h7
- Pertussis (whooping cough)
- Typhus fever
- Encephalitis
- Venereal disease
- Giardiasis
- Plague
- Chancroid
- Hepatitis, viral (A,B, Non A-Non-B, Unspecified)
- Poliomyelitis
- Gonorrhea
- Psittacosis
- Granuloma Inguinale
- Rabies
- Lymphogranuloma
- Histoplasmosis
- Reye’s Syndrome
- Venereum
- Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection other than AIDS
- Rheumatic fever
- Syphilis
- Rocky Mountain spotted fever
- Yellow fever
- Influenza
- Rubella (congenital syndrome)
- Legionellosis
Any other disease which is unusual in incidence, occurs in unusual numbers of circumstances, or appears to be of public health concern, e.g., epidemic diarrhea, food or waterborne outbreaks, acute respiratory illness.