The Oneonta City School District provides health services to all its students through the Health Offices at each school building. The Health Office is responsible for managing student medical records and medications and caring for students who are ill or injured while at school. The Health Office also helps manage information about student absences or tardiness related to illness or injury.
Fight Flu!
When to Keep Your Child Home From School
Please call the school if your child will be tardy or absent. If you don’t call before 9:30 a.m., you will get an automated phone call checking on your child’s absence. We want to make sure your child is safe, and if they are not in school, that they are home.
Upon return to school, you will need to provide a written note regarding your child’s absence or late arrival. Your child will be considered illegally absent from school (even if you call) until we receive a written note from you.
Illness: If your child is running a fever of 100 F or higher, is vomiting, or has diarrhea, they should stay home.
Parents are asked not to give children Tylenol or something similar to lower their fever and send them anyway, or the school will call parents to have the child picked up when it wears off.
A child needs to be without a fever, vomiting, or diarrhea for 24 hours before sending them back to school. If they are on an antibiotic for a contagious illness, such as strep throat, they need to be on that medication for a full 24 hours before returning to school so they don’t spread the strep throat to others.
Lice: Oneonta City School District has a no-nit policy. If a child has lice and/or nits, they must be treated and cleared of lice and/or nits before returning to school. When they do return to school, they must see the school nurse first thing.
Student Entrance Requirements
Immunizations
State education laws require students to provide proof of vaccination before enrolling in the school district. Additional information about required immunizations is available from the New York State Department of Health.
As of June 2019, families may no longer receive a religious exemption for vaccinations and will be required to provide proof of vaccination to enroll students in our school district.
All incoming 6th graders must have a Tdap vaccine.
All incoming 7th graders must have a Meningitis Vaccine. Please check with your doctor to see if your child is up to date. You will need to provide the heath office with proof of these vaccines before school begins.
Physical Examinations
Proof of a physical examination is also required for all new students enrolling in the district for the first time, as well as children entering prekindergarten, kindergarten, and grades 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, and 11. Parents/guardians will also be asked to provide a Health History Form for incoming students.
Current students may have the option of having a physical examination performed at their school Health Office with their parent's permission. Otherwise, students may be examined by their physician/medical provider.
Other Screenings
Vision and hearing screenings are required within 6 months of admission to school, as well as in prekindergarten, kindergarten, and grades 1, 3, 5, 7, and 11. Scoliosis screenings will be required for girls in grades 5 and 7 and boys in grade 9.
Medications
If your child takes medication regularly or even periodically — whether it is over-the-counter (such as Tylenol, allergy medicine, etc.) or prescription (such as an inhaler or antibiotics) — the school must have permission to administer the medication. The nurse's office cannot give out any medication that is not specified and provided, and the school nurse does not keep medication on hand.
If your child needs to take medication in school, please provide:
A signed doctor's order -AND-
A note from the parent/guardian
-OR-
Parents may authorize permission by completing the OCSD Medication Form. This form will require a provider's signature.
All medication must be brought to school in the original labeled medication bottle by a parent/guardian. DO NOT send medication in with your child. All medication must be given through the health office. Children are not allowed to carry and take their own medication. This keeps everyone safe.