Student Health Information

Health Services

School Registered Nurse Consultants are responsible for and supervise all health-related activities occurring within district and charter schools. This position requires a Bachelor of Science in Nursing, a Colorado RN license and Colorado Department of Education certification as a Special Services Provider - School Nurse. School RN Consultants work with health clerks, school administration and staff to provide physical, mental and social support to help children learn. School RN Consultants are assigned to multiple buildings so are not in every school every day, however school staff are able to contact them at all times.

Health Clerks are the main caregivers in health offices in all district and charter schools. They complete a health clerk training course, are certified in CPR and First Aid and complete additional training for specific student needs. They perform first aid and care for ill children, administer medications, perform vision and hearing screenings, manage immunizations and are responsible for maintaining student health records.

For Health Service Information and forms, please see the District 6 Health Services page on the District 6 website https://www.greeleyschools.org/

Annual Notification - Medicaid and School Health Services Program

ANNUAL NOTIFICATION UNDER 34 CFR § 300.154(d)(2)(v)

ANNUAL NOTIFICATION UNDER 34 CFR § 300.154(d)(2)(v)

The regulations implementing the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), afford parents of eligible students certain rights with respect to a school district’s ability to access private insurance or public benefits, such as Medicaid, to help pay for certain services that are provided at school.

These rights are as follows:

YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO RECEIVE NOTICE IN AN UNDERSTANDABLE LANGUAGE. The school district must give you an annual written notice of your rights, which must be written in language understandable to the general public; and also provided in the native language of the parent or other mode of communication used by the parent, unless it is clearly not feasible to do so.
YOUR CHILD’S CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION CANNOT BE DISCLOSED WITHOUT YOUR CONSENT. Parental consent must be obtained under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) regulations at 34 CFR part 99 and the IDEA regulations at §300.622 before the school district discloses, for claiming purposes, your child’s personally identifiable information to the agency responsible for the administration of the State’s public benefits or insurance program (e.g., Medicaid);
YOUR CHILD HAS A RIGHT TO SPECIAL EDUCATION AND RELATED SERVICES AT NO COST TO YOU. This means that, with regard to services required to provide a Free Appropriate Public Education (“FAPE”) to an eligible child under IDEA, the school district
- May not require parents to sign up for or enroll in public benefits or insurance programs in order for their child to receive FAPE;
- May not require parents to incur out-of-pocket expense such as the payment of. deductible or co-pay amount incurred in filing a claim for services provided pursuant to this part, but may pay the cost that the parents otherwise would be required to pay;
- May not use a child's benefits under a public benefits or insurance program if that use would:
  - Decrease available lifetime coverage or any other insured benefit;
  - Result in the family paying for services that would otherwise be covered by the public benefits or insurance program and that are required for the child outside of the time the child is in school;
  - Increase premiums or lead to the discontinuation of benefits or insurance; or
  - Risk loss of eligibility for home and community-based waivers, based on aggregate health-related expenditures.
YOU MAY WITHDRAW CONSENT AT ANY TIME. Once you've given consent for disclosure of confidential information about your child to the agency responsible for the administration of the State's public benefits or insurance program (e.g., Medicaid), you have a legal right under the FERPA regulations to withdraw that consent whenever you wish.
IF YOU REFUSE CONSENT, OR WITHDRAW CONSENT, THE SCHOOL DISTRICT STILL HAS TO PROVIDE REQUIRED SERVICES AT NO COST TO YOU. If you refuse to provide consent for the disclosure of personally identifiable information to the agency responsible for the administration of the State's public benefits or insurance program (e.e., Medicaid), or, if you give consent but then later withdraw consent, that does not relieve the school district of its responsibility to ensure that all required services are provided at no cost to the parents.

Download the annual notification pdf (English)

Download the annual notification PDF (Spanish)

Illness, injuries, and emergency information

Medications at school

Parents have primary responsibility for the health of their children. This includes administration of medications. Parents are encouraged to schedule medications to be given before or after school when possible. Medication administration at the school must follow the regulations set by the state of Colorado.

Medications brought to the school are kept in the Health Office for the safety of all students; at the middle and high school level, students may carry certain medications if a contract is completed with the school registered nurse consultant and parent/guardian.

Prescription Medications

A Medication Authorization form signed by both a parent/guardian AND a health care provider is required to be on file at the school
Medication must be provided by the parent/guardian in an individual, pharmacy labeled container for the student who is to receive it.
Medication will be given as directed by the pharmacy label and per the provider’s written order.
Provider orders expire one year from the date of the prescription..

Non-Prescription/Over-the-Counter Medication

A Medication Authorization form signed by both a parent/guardian AND a health care provider is required to be on file at the school
Non-prescription/over-the-counter medications must be in the original packaging and labeled with the student’s name.
Some over-the-counter medications are available in the health office and are approved by the District 6 Medical Advisor. To review the list of these medications and approve their use for your student, please complete the health section of the Online Registration each school year.

Students with health concerns

Individualized student health care plans are developed by school registered nurse consultants for all students who require medication administration or specific medical procedures at school or have health conditions which require monitoring in the school setting. Health care plans should be in place for all students with asthma, severe allergies, seizure disorders or diabetes; the state of Colorado provides standardized health care plans for these conditions which are tailored to meet the individual needs of each student.

Please complete the health section of the Online Registration every school year and notify the school of any changes in your student’s health concerns so that their health needs can be met.

Immunizations

All students enrolled in Colorado schools must comply with the Colorado school entry immunization law. There are three ways a student can be in compliance:

Fully Immunized: student has received all school-require vaccines and a completed Certificate of Immunization is included in the student’s electronic or hard copy file
In-Process: student is in the process of getting up-to-date on required vaccines. Within 14 days of notification, the student must receive required vaccines and submit a signed written plan for obtaining the remaining vaccines following the ACIP schedule for minimum intervals and ages.
Exempted: student has on file either a
- Certificate of Medical exemption form signed by a Doctor of Medicine (MD), Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO), Advanced Practice Nurse (APN) or delegated Physician Assistant (PA) because of a medical contraindication to receiving a vaccine OR
- Certificate of Non-medical exemption signed by a healthcare provider and the parent/legal guardian OR submit the exemption received upon completion of the CDPHE’s Online Immunization Education module signed by the parent or legal guardian. Please see CDPHE Vaccine Exemption site for further information on exemption requirements and forms

Colorado school entry required vaccinations for child care/preschool and K-12 can be found on the CDPHE Immunization website. The most recent immunization rates for all district schools can be found on the District 6 website under Departments > Health Services > Immunization Information for 2024-2025 School Year > Immunization Rates by School.

Hearing and vision screenings

A student’s ability to see and hear greatly impacts their ability to learn. If your student has had glasses prescribed or has a hearing aid, please make sure they wear them every day at school.

Annual hearing and vision screenings are conducted by Health Services staff including District 6 audiologists. Students in grades Pre-K, K, 1, 2, 3,5, 7 and 9, all new students and students with special education needs are screened every year per Colorado state guidelines. Parents who wish to opt out of screening should contact their school registered nurse consultant. Students who do not pass vision screening will receive a referral for follow-up care. Students who do not pass hearing screening will continue to be monitored by the district audiologist and will be referred for medical care when appropriate. If you need financial assistance for an eye exam and/or glasses, please contact the school nurse or health clerk for information on available programs.

When to Keep Your Child Home/Exclusion from School for Health Reasons

There are reasons to keep children and adults at home:

Per current guidelines, students and staff with a fever of 100.4° or higher must not come to school and must be not be vomiting/throwing up for at least 24 hours
Attendance and reasons for absence will be monitored to understand trends

Please see District 6 Exclusion Guidelines for more information

**District 6 Illness Exclusion Guidelines**
Symptom Guidance	Child or staff must stay home?
Diarrhea: Frequent, loose, or watery stools (poop) compared to normal ones that are not caused by food or medicine.	Yes: Unless the diarrhea is related to an existing long-term medical condition, is explained by a diagnosed condition not requiring the person to stay home, or is consistent with the person's normal. The child or staff member may return to school or child care 24 hours after their last episode of diarrhea unless the diarrhea is caused by an illness that requires them to stay home longer. If the diarrhea is explained by a specific illness, then the child or staff can return to school or child care following exclusion guidelines for that illness.
Fever: Temperature of 100.4 degrees Farenheit or greater	Yes: The child or staff member may return to school or child care if the fever has been resolved for 24 hours without fever reducing medications unless the fever is caused by an illness that requires them to stay home longer.
Flu-Like Symptoms: Fever, Sore Throat, Runny nose, congestion	Yes: Children and staff may return to school or child care as long as they are fever-free for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medications and other symptoms are improving.
Vomiting/Throwing Up	Yes: Unless the vomiting is related to an existing long-term medical condition or is explained by a diagnosed condition not requiring the person to stay home. If the vomiting is unexplained and not consistent with the person’s normal state of health, the child or staff member may return 24 hours after their last episode of vomiting. If the vomiting can be explained by a specific illness, then follow the exclusion guidelines for that illness. If a child with a recent head injury vomits, seek medical attention.
Chicken Pox	Yes: Until the blisters have dried and crusted (usually 6 days), or in immunized people without crusting, until no new lesions within 24 hour period.
Croup, RSV (Respiratory Syncytial Virus)	Yes: Should remain out of school or child care setting until they are fever free 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medications and other symptoms have been improving for 24 hours.
Strep Throat	Yes: For 12 hours after starting antibiotics unless the doctor says it is okay to return to school sooner.
Pink Eye (Conjunctivitis)	No: Children and adults do not need to stay home unless they have a fever or are not able to participate in usual activities. Call your doctor for advice and possible treatment. Encourage frequent hand washing.
Hand, Foot & Mouth Disease	No: exclusion necessary unless the child or adult meets other exclusion criteria, is drooling uncontrollably and has mouth sores or is not able to participate in usual activities.
Lice	Exclusion is for children found with live head lice only, may return after they have had the first treatment. *Research does not support school exclusion for nits (lice eggs).
Hepatitis A, Salmonella, Shigella, or Shiga-toxin producing E. coli	Yes: Children and staff may return to school/child care when cleared by the health department.
Impetigo	Yes: Children and adults need to stay home until 24 hours after antibiotic treatment has started.
Mouth Sores	Yes: If a student is drooling uncontrollably.
Rash	Yes: If a student has symptoms in addition to the rash such as behavioral change, fever,joint pain, bruising not associated with injury, or if the rash is open and oozing.
Ringworm	Yes: may stay in school until the end of the day, but may not return until they have had the first treatment. Keep the area covered for the first 3 days.
Stomach Ache or Abdominal Pain	Yes: If the pain is severe, if the pain appears after an injury, or if the student had symptoms in addition to the stomach ache such as vomiting, fever, diarrhea, etc.
Swollen Glands	Yes: If the student has symptoms in addition to the swollen glands such as difficulty breathing or swallowing, fever, etc.
Earache	No: exclusion necessary. Notify parents if they are unaware of earache, especially inyoung children.
Headache	No: exclusion necessary. Contact the nurse if the headache is persistent, severe, or is accompanied by other symptoms. Follow the healthcare plan if a student has one for headache.
Norovirus	Yes: Exclude children and staff for at least 48 hours after their last episode of vomiting and/or diarrhea.
Contagious Illness	Students on antibiotics for contagious illnesses, such as tonsillitis, bronchitis, or pneumonia, must stay home until antibiotics have been taken for 24 hours or longer if directed by a healthcare provider or public health department. All skin lesions must be covered by a bandage or clothing during the school day. This may include impetigo, ringworm, scabies, and other fungal, bacterial or viral skin infections.
Other Vaccine Preventable Diseases: Measles, Mumps, Rubella, and Pertussis	Yes: Children and staff can return to school once they are no longer contagious (see Infectious Disease Guidelines). Public health consultation may be necessary.

Health and wellness

Research shows that children perform better in school when they have healthy habits. District 6 embraces a mission to improve the health of students, families and staff through education, environmental changes and opportunities to establish life-long positive nutrition, physical activity and mental health habits. Information about health and wellness policies and activities can be found on the District website at Home > Families > Student Wellness. Health office staff are happy to assist parents/guardians in finding health information and access to health care. Please ask if you need assistance!

Loaned clothing

Students with allergies

The District recognizes that many students are diagnosed with potentially life-threatening food allergies. To address this issue and meet state law requirements concerning the management of food allergies and anaphylaxis among students, Board policy JLCDA (Students with Food Allergies), Students with Food Allergies, establishes procedures to provide appropriate support plans for students with food allergies.

The Students with Food Allergies Policy provides guidelines for the development of a health care plan with the assistance of the licensed school nurse. Such plans typically address communication and emergency instructions between school officials and emergency responders, as well as reasonable accommodations to reduce the student’s exposure to agents that may cause allergic reactions. Plans may also include staff training provisions, access to emergency medications and reasonable accommodations under a “Section 504” or an Individual Education Plan when appropriate as determined by law.

Administering medication to students

School personnel shall not administer prescription or nonprescription medications to students unless appropriate administration cannot reasonably be accomplished outside of school hours.

Medication may be administered to students only by school personnel whom a registered nurse has trained and delegated the task of administering such medication. For purposes of this policy, the term “medication” includes both prescription medication and nonprescription medication, but does not include medical marijuana.

Student possession, use, distribution, sale or being under the influence of medication inconsistent with this policy shall be considered a violation of Board policy concerning drug and alcohol involvement by students and may subject the student to disciplinary consequences, including suspension and/or expulsion, in accordance with applicable Board policy.

The administration of medical marijuana shall be in accordance with the Board’s policy on administration of medical marijuana to qualified students.

The term “nonprescription medication” includes but is not limited to over-the-counter medications, homeopathic and herbal medications, vitamins and nutritional supplements.

Medication may be administered to students only when the following requirements are met:

Medication shall be in the original properly labeled container. If it is a prescription medication, the student’s name, name of the medication, dosage, how often it is to be administered, and name of the prescribing health care practitioner shall be printed on the container.
The school shall have received written permission from the student’s parent/guardian to administer the medication to the student and either:
1. Written permission to administer the medication from the student’s health care practitioner with prescriptive authority under Colorado law; or
2. a standing medical order, if the medication is an over-the-counter medication such as Advil or Tylenol.
The parent/guardian shall be responsible for providing all medication to be administered to the student, unless it is an over-the-counter medication such as Advil or Tylenol.

Self-administration of medication for asthma or anaphylaxis

A student with asthma, a food allergy, other severe allergies, or a related, life-threatening condition may possess and self-administer medication to treat the student’s asthma, food or other allergy, anaphylaxis or related, life-threatening condition. Self-administration of such medication may occur during school hours, at school-sponsored activities, or while in transit to and from school or a school-sponsored activity. Student possession and self-administration of such medication shall be in accordance with district procedures.

Authorization for a student to possess and self-administer medication to treat the student’s asthma, food or other allergy, anaphylaxis or other related, life-threatening condition may be limited or revoked by the school principal after consultation with the school nurse and the student’s parents/guardian if the student demonstrates an inability to responsibly possess and self-administer such medication.

Use of stock epinephrine auto-injectors in emergency situations

The district will have a stock supply of epinephrine auto-injectors for use in emergency anaphylaxis events that occur on school grounds. Any administration of a stock epinephrine auto-injector to a student by a district employee must be in accordance with applicable state law, including applicable State Board of Education rules.

The district's stock supply of epinephrine auto-injectors is not intended to replace student-specific orders or medication provided by the student's parent/guardian to treat the student's asthma, food or other allergy, anaphylaxis or related, life-threatening condition.

Use of stock supply of opiate antagonists in emergency situations

The district will have a stock supply of opiate antagonists to assist a student who is at risk of experiencing an opiate-related drug overdose event. For purposes of this policy, an opiate antagonist means naloxone hydrochloride or any similarly acting drug that is not a controlled substance and that is approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of a drug overdose.

The stock supply of opiate antagonists may also be used to assist a district employee or any other person who is at risk of experiencing an opiate-related drug overdose event.

Administration of an opiate antagonist by a district employee to a student or any other person must be in accordance with applicable state law.

Please refer to Board policy JLCD (Administering Medication to Students) regarding administering medications to students.

K-12th Grade School-required Immunizations for the 2025-2026 School Year

No student is permitted to attend or continue to attend any school in District 6 without meeting the legal requirements of immunization against disease unless the student has a valid exemption for health, religious, personal or other reasons as provided by law.

Students who do not submit an up to date certificate of immunization or a written authorization signed by one parent/guardian requesting local health officials to administer the immunizations or a valid exemption will be suspended and/or expelled from school according to this policy's accompanying regulation.

For information related to District 6 Immunization requirements and resources, please refer to Board policy JLCB (Immunization of Students) and JLCB-R (Immunization of Students) or visit the Health Services Immunization webpage.

The Parent Letter for incoming Kindergarten students can be found by clicking on this Parent Letter Link (Spanish version).

The Parent Letter for K-12 students can be found by clicking on this Parent Letter link (Spanish version).

Health records

Health records of all students shall be maintained by the nursing staff and kept in a separate health file in the school health office.

Access to the health files shall be limited to only those school personnel who have a specific and legitimate educational interest in the information for use in furthering a student's academic achievement or maintaining a safe and orderly teaching environment.

The nursing staff shall maintain a log showing who has been given access, when access occurred and to which specific records.

Annual screening programs

The sight and hearing of all students in kindergarten, first, second, third, fifth, seventh and ninth grades or students in comparable age groups referred for testing shall be tested during the school year by the school nurse, teacher, principal or other qualified person authorized by the school district, as required by law. These screenings shall not be required of any student whose parent/guardian objects on religious or personal grounds. The parent/guardian shall be informed when a deficiency is found.

Communicable diseases

Students showing symptoms of a communicable disease, an infectious condition, or illness or disability of a serious nature shall be referred to the school nurse. The school nurse shall report the presence of a reportable communicable disease, if action is necessary to protect the health of other students and staff.

Please refer to Board policy JLC (Student Health Services and Records) for more information regarding health services and records.

Medically Necessary Treatment in School Setting

Notification of Rights: Pursuant to C.R.S. § 22-20-121(2)(b)(I), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 U.S.C § 794, as amended, and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, 42 U.S.C. §§ 12101 et seq., affords students access to medically necessary treatment required for the student to have meaningful access to the benefits of a public education, or to attend school without risks to the student’s health or safety due to the student’s disabling medical condition.

The provision of medically necessary treatment to students by private health-care specialists must be done in accordance with district policy. If medically necessary treatment requires administration of prescription and/or nonprescription medication to students, such administration must be in accordance with applicable federal and state law and the District’s policy and accompanying regulations concerning the administration of medications to students, JLCD (Administering Medication to Students).

“Medically necessary treatment” means treatment recommended or ordered by a Colorado licensed health-care provider acting within the scope of the heath-care provider’s license.

“Private health-care specialist” means a health-care provider who is licensed, certified, or otherwise authorized to provide health-care services in Colorado, including pediatric behavioral health treatment providers pursuant to the state medical assistance program, as defined in C.R.S. § 22-20-121(b), and autism services providers who provide treatment pursuant to C.R.S. § 10-16-104(1.4). In no event may a school district or administrative unit staff member be recognized as a private health-care specialist for the purposes of district policy.

It is the responsibility of a student’s IEP team or Section 504 team to determine whether any medically necessary treatment is required during the school day and within the school building to ensure the student can access their education, in accordance with Section 504 and Title II.
When determining whether medically necessary treatment is required within the school setting, the student’s IEP team or Section 504 team will invite the private health-care specialist who ordered or recommended the medically necessary treatment to attend the meeting at which the issue will be discussed. Private health-care specialists are encouraged to submit information in writing that can be reviewed at the meeting by the student’s IEP or Section 504 team. The invitation will issue to the private health-care specialist at least ten (10) calendar days in advance of the IEP or section 504 meeting.
Nothing in district policy will be construed to prevent the District from using its own staff, if qualified, or contracting with a qualified provider of its choice to provide medically necessary treatment to a student within the school setting when determined appropriate by a student’s IEP or Section 504 team.
Nothing in district policy will be construed to require the District to permit a third-party to determine or provide special education or related services in the school setting in a way that interferes with the District’s obligations and authority under federal and state law.

A private health-care specialist may be granted access to school or district property to provide medically necessary treatment in accordance with the determination of the student’s IEP team or Section 504 team, subject to the District's policy and/or procedures concerning visitors to schools and all other applicable policies.

A private health-care specialist may be granted access to school or district property to observe the student in the school setting, in accordance with the determination of the student’s IEP team or Section 504 team, and with express consent from the parent/legal guardian. During the observation, the health-care specialist is prohibited from providing medical treatment, disrupting the student’s instructional program, or interfering with the provision of special education and related services. The health-care specialist’s observation is subject to the District’s policies and procedures regarding visitors to schools and District property.

Permission to provide medically necessary treatment on school premises may be limited or revoked if the private health-care specialist violates any board policy, or demonstrates an inability to responsibly follow the requirements of the school district.

If the IEP team or the Section 504 team determines that any medically necessary treatment is not required to be provided in the school setting pursuant to this policy, the IEP team or Section 504 team will provide notice to the student’s parents or legal guardian that the student has a right to appeal such determination. Such appeals must meet, at a minimum, the requirements as set forth in Board policy JLCDC (Medically Necessary Treatment in School Settings). Additional information regarding medically necessary treatment in school settings, as well as the process for authorizing private health-care specialists to provide medically necessary treatment in school settings, can be found in JLCDC (Medically Necessary Treatment in School Settings) and its accompanying regulation, JLCDC-R (Authorizing Private Health-Care Specialists to Provide Medically Necessary Treatment in School Settings).