Illness Protocols & Practices

The Sioux City Community School District has implemented protocols and practices to promote the health and safety of our students, staff, and community.

When Students/Staff Should Remain Home

Students and staff should remain home when experiencing symptoms of an illness. Please call your student’s school to report an absence due to illness.

The Sioux City Community School District illness policy also requires students to stay home:

  • During the first 24 hours of antibiotic treatment for an alternative illness (strep throat, etc.)

  • When experiencing undiagnosed, new, and/or untreated rash or skin conditions

  • If questionable or undiagnosed pink eye appears

  • When diagnosed with COVID-19

    • Students and staff must be 24 hours fever free, without fever-reducing medication, before returning to school or work.

Know The Difference

Many seasonal illnesses have similar symptoms, and it can be difficult to tell the difference based on symptoms alone. Please see a doctor for testing and treatment if your child becomes ill.

Common Symptoms of the Flu

  • Fever or chills

  • Cough

  • Sore throat

  • Runny or stuffy nose

  • Muscle or body aches

  • Headaches

  • Fatigue

  • Vomiting

  • Diarrhea

Common Symptoms of COVID-19

  • Fever or chills

  • Cough

  • Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing

  • Fatigue

  • Muscle or body aches

  • Headache

  • New loss of taste or smell

  • Sore throat

  • Congestion or runny nose

  • Nausea or vomiting

  • Diarrhea

Common Symptoms of Strep

  • Sore throat

  • Pain when swallowing

  • Fever

  • Red and swollen tonsils

  • Swollen lymph nodes in the neck

Common Symptoms of RSV

  • Runny nose

  • Decrease in appetite

  • Coughing

  • Sneezing

  • Fever

  • Difficulty breathing

When Students Exhibit Illness Symptoms at School

If a student becomes sick at school they will be moved to the nurse’s office. The student’s parent/guardian will be contacted.

Academic Instruction During Absence Due to Illness

The Sioux City Community School District supports students with acute and/or chronic health conditions. Short-term absences will be handled on a case-by-case basis, and instructional materials will be provided for continued learning.

When a Positive COVID-19 Case is Confirmed

The identity of the individual with a COVID-19 positive result is confidential. The individual will not be allowed to return to school or work until they are fever free for 24 hours (without the use of fever-reducing medicine).

Close Contacts of a COVID-19 Positive Case

Close contacts of individuals who have tested positive for COVID-19 do not need to stay home after exposure, but they should monitor symptoms for 14 days after the exposure.

Students who have been exposed but not tested positive for COVID-19 are not excluded from school activities (including extra-curricular activities) as long as they remain asymptomatic.

Sioux City Community Schools follows CDC guidance. The District will adjust protocols and procedures as guidance changes.