Health-related absences are one of the top reasons students miss so many days of school they are at risk of being chronically absent. Occasional absences related to health reasons are to be expected. But absences can quickly add up when a child has an undertreated chronic health condition, lacks access to care or experiences anxiety or other mental health issues. Families might also be confused about when to send a child to school after months of being told to stay home.

Schools and districts can communicate clearly and often with families to address fears about when to send a child to school after an illness or how they can handle a student who may have anxiety. Download the handouts below.

Special instructions for using the handouts on this page.

Health Guidance for Going to School (English and Spanish) This resource was developed in collaboration with Kaiser Permanente and the National Association of School Nurses. It’s based on existing research and guidance, and went through review and feedback from school health experts and parent focus groups. 

Please use this guidance as it is written. Be advised  that we are not currently allowing changes to this handout, including wording changes and adding logos.

Alternatively, consider using it as a starting point and with your local health department, create your own local guidance. If you create your own guidance please do not use our handout  images, or attribute your handout to, or use logos for Attendance Works, the National Associationof School Nurses or Kaiser Permanente. 

Even though we will not currently consider changes, we are interested in hearing your reactions to inform the development of our health related work. Please email them to elliottattisha@gmail.com

Tips for Staying Healthy and Handout About Anxiety - These 2 handouts follow our usage policy. Non-profit educators and community organizations can add a logo, using these instructions. Any wording changes must be approved. Please email Cecelia@attendanceworks.org to request approval for wording changes.