CDC Guidance for School Administrators (K-12)

August 7, 2009, 9:00 AM ET

This document provides guidance to help decrease the spread of flu among students and school staff during the 2009-2010 school year. This document expands upon earlier school guidance documents by providing a menu of tools that school and health officials can choose from based on conditions in their area. It recommends actions to take this school year and suggests strategies to use if CDC finds that the flu starts causing more severe disease. The guidance also provides a checklist for making decisions at the local level. Detailed information on the reasons for these strategies and suggestions on how to use them is included in the Technical Report. Based on the severity of 2009 H1N1 flu-related illness thus far, this guidance also recommends that students and staff with influenza-like illness remain home until 24 hours after resolution of fever without the use of fever-reducing medications.

For the purpose of this guidance, “schools” will refer to both public and private institutions providing grades K-12 education to children and adolescents in group settings. The guidance applies to such schools in their entirety, even if they provide services for younger or older students. Guidance for child care settings and institutions of higher education will be addressed in separate documents.

The guidance is designed to decrease exposure to regular seasonal flu and 2009 H1N1 flu while limiting the disruption of day-to-day activities and the vital learning that goes on in schools. CDC will continue to monitor the situation and update the current guidance as more information is obtained on 2009 H1N1.

About 55 million students and 7 million staff attend the more than 130,000 public and private schools in the United States each day. By implementing these recommendations, schools and health officials can help protect one-fifth of the country’s population from flu. Collaboration is essential: CDC, the U.S. Department of Education, state and local public health and education agencies, schools, students, staff, families, businesses, and communities all have active roles to play.

The decision to dismiss students should be made locally and should balance the goal of reducing the number of people who become seriously ill or die from influenza with the goal of minimizing social disruption and safety risks to children sometimes associated with school dismissal. Based on the experience and knowledge gained in jurisdictions that had large outbreaks in spring 2009, the potential benefits of preemptively dismissing students from school are often outweighed by negative consequences, including students being left home alone, health workers missing shifts when they must stay home with their children, students missing meals, and interruption of students’ education. Still, although the situation in fall 2009 is unpredictable, more communities may be affected, reflecting wider transmission. The overall impact of 2009 H1N1 should be greater than in the spring, and school dismissals may be warranted, depending on the disease burden and other conditions. (See the Technical Report for discussion of the kinds of circumstances that might warrant preemptive school dismissals.)

Recommended school responses for the 2009-2010 school year

Under conditions with similar severity as in spring 2009

• Stay home when sick:
  Those with flu-like illness should stay home for at least 24 hours after they no longer have a fever, or signs of a fever, without the use of fever-reducing medicines. They should stay home even if they are using antiviral drugs. (For more information, see CDC Recommendations for the Amount of Time Persons with Influenza-Like Illness Should be Away from Others.)
  See the Technical Report for more details about staying home when sick >>
• Separate ill students and staff:
  Students and staff who appear to have flu-like illness should be sent to a room separate from others until they can be sent home. CDC recommends that they wear a surgical mask, if possible, and that those who care for ill students and staff wear protective gear such as a mask.
  See the Technical Report for more details about separating ill students and staff >>
• Hand hygiene and respiratory etiquette:
  The new recommendations emphasize the importance of the basic foundations of influenza prevention: stay home when sick, wash hands frequently with soap and water when possible, and cover noses and mouths with a tissue when coughing or sneezing (or a shirt sleeve or elbow if no tissue is available).
  See the Technical Report for more details about hand hygiene and respiratory etiquette >>
• Routine cleaning:
  School staff should routinely clean areas that students and staff touch often with the cleaners they typically use. Special cleaning with bleach and other non-detergent-based cleaners is not necessary.
  See the Technical Report for more details about routine cleaning >>
• Early treatment of high-risk students and staff:
  People at high risk for influenza complications who become ill with influenza-like illness should speak with their health care provider as soon as possible.  Early treatment with antiviral medications is very important for people at high risk because it can prevent hospitalizations and deaths. People at high risk include those who are pregnant, have asthma or diabetes, have compromised immune systems, or have neuromuscular diseases.
  See the Technical Report for more details about early treatment >>
• Consideration of selective school dismissal:
  Although there are not many schools where all or most students are at high risk (for example, schools for medically fragile children or for pregnant students) a community might decide to dismiss such a school to better protect these high-risk students.
  See the Technical Report for more details about selective school dismissal >>

Under conditions of increased severity compared with spring 2009

CDC may recommend additional measures to help protect students and staff if global and national assessments indicate that influenza is causing more severe disease. In addition, local health and education officials may elect to implement some of these additional measures. Except for school dismissals, these strategies have not been scientifically tested. But CDC wants communities to have tools to use that may be the right measures for their community and circumstances.