Health Services

Welcome to the Kalama School District Health Services page! Here you'll find information for families regarding health issues at school. Please contact your school's health specialist (see contact information on the right) if you have further questions.

We take guidance from the Washington State Department of Health and/or the Cowlitz County Public Health Department. Therefore, during outbreaks of disease or illness, the guidelines below may change.

When to keep your student home from school

As a parent/guardian, you can help us prevent the spread of illness in the classroom by keeping your child home when they are sick.

If your student is experiencing any of the following symptoms, you should not send them to school:

Oral temperature at 100.4 degrees or more (fever).
- Temperature should remain normal (generally below 99 degrees) without fever reducing medications for 24 hours before the child returns to school
Diarrhea or Vomiting
- If your student is experiencing diarrhea or vomiting, please keep them home from school until 24 hours after symptoms have resolved
Earache, ear drainage if discharge has blood, pus, or other discoloration (not earwax)
Severe cough
Sore throat
Communicable disease such as COVID-19, pink eye, chicken pox, or strep
- For cases of COVID-19, please follow the WA Dept. of Health Decision Tree prior to allowing your child to return to school
- For other communicable diseases, your child may return to school with a doctor's note
A child with live head lice should not be sent to school. If diagnosed during the school day, we will encourage (but not require) families to pick their child up and treat them

Note: The symptoms listed above are the same guidelines our health team follows when determining whether to send a student home.

Additional guidelines can be found in OSPI's Infectious Disease Control Guide.

Life-threatening health conditions

In order to attend school, students with life-threatening health conditions must supply their school office with any required medications, treatments and/or documentation prior to Friday, Sept. 29, 2023.

State law defines a “life-threatening condition” as a “health condition that will put the child in danger of death during the school day if a medication or treatment order and a nursing plan are not in place.” This includes, but is not limited to:

Severe allergies
Seizure disorders
Diabetes
Asthma
Certain heart conditions

Our health team will work with families to create an emergency care plan for each student with a life-threatening condition.

If your child has a life-threatening condition, please contact your school’s main office to ensure you have all of the required paperwork and medications necessary to keep your child safe during the school day.

Families may submit a signed doctor's letter if their student's documented life-threatening health condition is no longer present.

Prescription & non-prescription medications

If your student needs to receive medication, either prescription or non-prescription (Tylenol, cough drops, etc.), during school hours, you must provide a physician note, parent/guardian note, the medication in its original container, and a completed Authorization for Administration of Medication form.

Immunizations

All students must meet state immunization requirements in order to attend school. Families must supply records of the type of vaccine and month, day, and year that each vaccine was given. To view the list of required vaccines, check out WA Dept. of Health's Immunization Manual for Schools.

Pro Tip: Washing your hands with soap and warm water is the most important technique for preventing the transmission of disease.