2023-24 school year guidance: Stay home if sick

The greatest deterrent to the spread of any illness is for students and staff to stay home when sick. Individuals should stay home if they have symptoms of illness and take a COVID test. Fever, vomiting, and diarrhea must be resolved for at least 24 hours before returning to school. While Covid-19 is less risky for most individuals than in the early stages of the pandemic, reducing transmission remains an essential strategy to minimize disruption at schools. There has been an uptick in Covid-19 cases in our area. We continue to offer free Covid-19 test kits at our schools / offices. Students or staff who test positive for Covid-19 are required to isolate for five days minimum. A person may return to school  on day 6 through 10 if symptoms have resolved/improved and are fever free for at least 24 hours without fever reducing medication. It is strongly recommended that you get a negative test before returning. If you are still testing positive Day 6-10, you should continue to isolate until you test negative or through Day 10, whatever comes first. Our guiding agency, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, states that no masks are required upon return on days 6-10, if a person has two days of negative tests. Otherwise, masks are strongly recommended. Here is the guidance we are following from LACDPH: English / Spanish. Our nursing team and administrators will be using this chart for guidance. We can prevent the spread of many illnesses when everyone does their part and stays home when sick. The best defense against Covid is to be up-to-date on Covid vaccines. For information about where to get vaccinated visit the LA County Public Health How to Get Vaccinated webpage.

Immunization Requirement for Students

Up-to-Date Immunizations are required for both in-person and distance learning. It is now more important than ever to prevent an additional outbreak.
Call your doctor to schedule required and recommended vaccines such as the flu. For more information refer to ShotsforSchool website.

Volunteer Information

If you plan to volunteer at your child’s school, please read the letter and fill out the form that is linked here. The packet will inform you of the requirements for volunteering. You can submit the form to the volunteer coordinator at your child's school.

Links

Santa Monica Cradle to Career
English l Español

Student Support
Information Here

Contact

Rachel Bressler, R.N., M.N.
rbressler@smmusd.org