School and Childcare Exclusion

DPH publishes the School and Childcare Exclusion List each year. The Exclusion List explains how long ill children and staff should stay out of school or childcare, and what is needed before the child/student or employee is permitted to return.

To help protect well children from unnecessary exposure to contagious or infectious diseases, South Carolina requires that children and staff with certain diseases and conditions stay home from school or childcare while contagious.

Below is the list of excludable illnesses and the information required to return to childcare or school:

English

• Guidance for Implementing the School and Childcare Exclusion List (pdf)
• School and Childcare Exclusion List (08.12.2024) (pdf)
• School and Childcare Exclusion Guide for Parents (pdf)

Spanish

• Guidance for Implementing the School and Childcare Exclusion List (pdf)
• School and Childcare Exclusion List (08.16.2024) (pdf)
• School and Childcare Exclusion Guide for Parents (pdf)

Help Your Child Stay Healthy and Ready to Learn

We hope that your child never has to miss school because of illness. The best protection from disease is prevention. You can help prevent many illnesses by making sure your child receives immunizations and washes his or her hands often.

If there is an outbreak of disease in your child's school, DPH may change the exclusions found in this document in order to stop the spread of disease.

If your child has not received immunizations to protect against diseases like Measles, Mumps, Rubella (German measles), or Chickenpox, he or she may need to be removed from school or childcare if there are cases of these illnesses in the school or childcare. Your school nurse will provide more information if there is an exposure or outbreak.

OK to Attend

Children with the following conditions do not have to be excluded from school or childcare if they feel well enough to participate in regular activities:

• Canker Sores
• Chronic Hepatitis B or C
• Colds or coughs, without fever or other signs of illness
• Cold Sores
• Croup
• Cytomegalovirus (your child may need to stay out of PE and sports)
• Disease spread by mosquitoes: Malaria, West Nile Virus
• Diseases spread by ticks: Babesiosis, Ehrlichiosis, Lyme Disease, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, Tularemia
• Ear Infection
• Fifth Disease
• HIV infection
• Mononucleosis (your child may need to stay out of PE and sports)
• MRSA, if child is only a carrier
• Pinworms
• Rash without fever or behavior change
• Roseola, once the fever is gone
• Thrush
• Urinary Tract Infection
• Warts, including Molluscum contagiosum
• Yeast Diaper Rash

Updated August 30, 2024